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Non Exclsuive LP (Yelllow Vinyl)
DBL Gatefold LP w/ MP3, Galaxy Vinyl (Clear with Black smoke detail) &
Edition of 1000
2021 Vinyl aRepress, to co-incide with Molly Nilsson's new studio album and reissues of The Travels and Europa. First time this edition has been on CD
It would be easy to say that Molly Nilsson needs no introduction, but These Things Take Time is an introduction. Originally self-released in 2008 on a limited CDR run with hand-folded sleeve, Nilsson's debut album has slowly taken over the hearts of many. In 2014 this modern classic of autonomous, DIY pop and punk-as-you-like attitude is presented on vinyl for the first time in a beautiful edition featuring unreleased bonus tracks across two discs, an exclusive screen printed A2 poster and new sleeve notes from the artist.
Molly Nilsson's first recordings under her own name have grown in stature to occupy a prominent positioning in the global pop underground despite initially only being available on CDr. Though Nilsson's songwriting prowess and commandeering of other genres has grown since 2008, her unique voice is seen in raw form on These Things Take Time. Many of the themes she would develop later were inked first here: the romance of loneliness on "The Lonely," "Whisky Sour," "Hey Moon!", the folly and intoxication of youth seen in "Joyride," "Poisoned Candy" and dogged self-reliance as on "The Diamond Song" or "Wounds Itch When They Heal." Also included here are unreleased recordings from the same period that were left off the original release, a further window into a turbulent, exciting time for an artist just discovering her power to touch and communicate with the listener.
These Things Take Time tracklist:
A1 The Lonely
A2 The Diamond Song
A3 8000 Days
A4 Wounds Itch When They Heal
B1 Whiskey Sour
B2 Poisoned Candy
B3 (Won't Somebody) Take Me Out Tonight
B4 Hey Moon!
C1 The Home Song
C2 Joyride
C3 We're Never Coming Home
C4 Dinosaur Tears
C5 My Dream From Last Night
D1 Zur Tränen Bar
D2 Lend Me Your Love
D3 Some Need Powder
D4 Nightlife
More
DBL Gatefold LP w/ MP3, Galaxy Vinyl (Clear with Black smoke detail) &
Edition of 1000
2021 Vinyl aRepress, to co-incide with Molly Nilsson's new studio album and reissues of The Travels and Europa. First time this edition has been on CD
It would be easy to say that Molly Nilsson needs no introduction, but These Things Take Time is an introduction. Originally self-released in 2008 on a limited CDR run with hand-folded sleeve, Nilsson's debut album has slowly taken over the hearts of many. In 2014 this modern classic of autonomous, DIY pop and punk-as-you-like attitude is presented on vinyl for the first time in a beautiful edition featuring unreleased bonus tracks across two discs, an exclusive screen printed A2 poster and new sleeve notes from the artist.
Molly Nilsson's first recordings under her own name have grown in stature to occupy a prominent positioning in the global pop underground despite initially only being available on CDr. Though Nilsson's songwriting prowess and commandeering of other genres has grown since 2008, her unique voice is seen in raw form on These Things Take Time. Many of the themes she would develop later were inked first here: the romance of loneliness on "The Lonely," "Whisky Sour," "Hey Moon!", the folly and intoxication of youth seen in "Joyride," "Poisoned Candy" and dogged self-reliance as on "The Diamond Song" or "Wounds Itch When They Heal." Also included here are unreleased recordings from the same period that were left off the original release, a further window into a turbulent, exciting time for an artist just discovering her power to touch and communicate with the listener.
These Things Take Time tracklist:
A1 The Lonely
A2 The Diamond Song
A3 8000 Days
A4 Wounds Itch When They Heal
B1 Whiskey Sour
B2 Poisoned Candy
B3 (Won't Somebody) Take Me Out Tonight
B4 Hey Moon!
C1 The Home Song
C2 Joyride
C3 We're Never Coming Home
C4 Dinosaur Tears
C5 My Dream From Last Night
D1 Zur Tränen Bar
D2 Lend Me Your Love
D3 Some Need Powder
D4 Nightlife
More
More records from Molly Nilsson
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
CD
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
CD
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Excalibur
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Palestine
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Jackboots Return
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Wetcheeks
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Red Telephone
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Naming Names
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. The Communist Party
9
Molly Nilsson - 9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10
Molly Nilsson - 10. Point Doom
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Excalibur
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Palestine
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Jackboots Return
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Wetcheeks
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Red Telephone
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Naming Names
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. The Communist Party
9
Molly Nilsson - 9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10
Molly Nilsson - 10. Point Doom
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Summer Cats
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Perfect Past
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Punks In Paradise
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Plaza Italia
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Blue Dollar
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Maximo Says
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Bar Roma
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. Malaysian Airlines
LP - Limited White VInyl Version
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Summer Cats
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Perfect Past
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Punks In Paradise
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Plaza Italia
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Blue Dollar
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Maximo Says
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Bar Roma
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. Malaysian Airlines
LP - Black Vinyl
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
1
MOLLY NILSSON - 1. In Real Life
2
MOLLY NILSSON - 2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3
MOLLY NILSSON - 3. I Hope You Die
4
MOLLY NILSSON - 4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5
MOLLY NILSSON - 5. Hiroshima Street
6
MOLLY NILSSON - 6. Intermezzo: The Party
7
MOLLY NILSSON - 7. Hotel Home
8
MOLLY NILSSON - 8. City Of Atlantis
9
MOLLY NILSSON - 9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10
MOLLY NILSSON - 10. The Clocks
11
MOLLY NILSSON - 11. Skybound
Non Exclsuive, LP, LTD 300
1. In Real Life
2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3. I Hope You Die
4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5. Hiroshima Street
6. Intermezzo: The Party
7. Hotel Home
8. City Of Atlantis
9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10. The Clocks
11. Skybound
“I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time, I hope we die not long from now, the two of us
at the exact same time”
By the time Molly Nilsson released History, she had already established a fledgling cult status built on homemade
YouTube videos and home-burnt Cdrs. Writing from a distance, it’s clear that History is the first classic album in
her canon and arguably a classic of the 21st Century underground music panorama.While the methodology on
History hadn’t changed from Nilsson’s previous 3 albums – it was recorded solo at The Lighthouse, Nilsson’s
home studio based on a Berlin crossroads – on this record the songwriting reached a new peak and the
emotional scythe cut deeper. Here, Nilsson managed to combine a cosmic, outward looking perspective with an
intimate knowledge of the human condition and its place in these turbulent times. In truth, no other songwriter has
excavated the modern psyche so clearly and perfectly.
The tracklist to Nilsson’s fourth album reads as an early greatest hits for Molly Nilsson followers and also serves
as the perfect entry point to a whole world the artist has been building for the last 10 years. In Real Life
crystalises the millenial obsession with relationships built online, with a generation paying for the baby boomer’s
excesses with their anxiety towards the harshness of every day life. It’s a call to arms for a generation who fell in
love on Skype. On I Hope You Die, one of Molly Nilsson’s most iconic songs, the songwriter flips the song title
into a tale of doomed romance, a relationship based on miscommunications and the thrill of the other. It’s also
one of the most heartfelt songs full of pathos written by anyone, an ode to obsession. Doomed romance, life lived
on the flipside of day and the role of the outsider in society are themes that crop up through-out History. On
Bottles Of Tomorrow, the narrator is sweeping up, in love with the night and examining the remains a society
leaves behind.
On City Of Atlantis, Nilsson veers from the plaintive balladry she had begun to make her name with, embracing
trance-like synth and dance music details to create an unlikely anthem using the mythological city as a means to
comment on the patriarchal rendering of history by power. With by now trademark panache, she turns
complicated subject matter into a glorious song that transforms into an ecstatic pop moment.
Hotel Home, another Nilsson classic, paints loneliness not as a debilitating anxiety, but as a powerful tool that
propels the artist forward through her travels. It’s a song that hints at an endearing self-awareness also; the writer
is never at home, living life on the road, content that “the world will find me when the time is ripe.”
There’s never been a greater time. More
1. In Real Life
2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3. I Hope You Die
4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5. Hiroshima Street
6. Intermezzo: The Party
7. Hotel Home
8. City Of Atlantis
9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10. The Clocks
11. Skybound
“I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time, I hope we die not long from now, the two of us
at the exact same time”
By the time Molly Nilsson released History, she had already established a fledgling cult status built on homemade
YouTube videos and home-burnt Cdrs. Writing from a distance, it’s clear that History is the first classic album in
her canon and arguably a classic of the 21st Century underground music panorama.While the methodology on
History hadn’t changed from Nilsson’s previous 3 albums – it was recorded solo at The Lighthouse, Nilsson’s
home studio based on a Berlin crossroads – on this record the songwriting reached a new peak and the
emotional scythe cut deeper. Here, Nilsson managed to combine a cosmic, outward looking perspective with an
intimate knowledge of the human condition and its place in these turbulent times. In truth, no other songwriter has
excavated the modern psyche so clearly and perfectly.
The tracklist to Nilsson’s fourth album reads as an early greatest hits for Molly Nilsson followers and also serves
as the perfect entry point to a whole world the artist has been building for the last 10 years. In Real Life
crystalises the millenial obsession with relationships built online, with a generation paying for the baby boomer’s
excesses with their anxiety towards the harshness of every day life. It’s a call to arms for a generation who fell in
love on Skype. On I Hope You Die, one of Molly Nilsson’s most iconic songs, the songwriter flips the song title
into a tale of doomed romance, a relationship based on miscommunications and the thrill of the other. It’s also
one of the most heartfelt songs full of pathos written by anyone, an ode to obsession. Doomed romance, life lived
on the flipside of day and the role of the outsider in society are themes that crop up through-out History. On
Bottles Of Tomorrow, the narrator is sweeping up, in love with the night and examining the remains a society
leaves behind.
On City Of Atlantis, Nilsson veers from the plaintive balladry she had begun to make her name with, embracing
trance-like synth and dance music details to create an unlikely anthem using the mythological city as a means to
comment on the patriarchal rendering of history by power. With by now trademark panache, she turns
complicated subject matter into a glorious song that transforms into an ecstatic pop moment.
Hotel Home, another Nilsson classic, paints loneliness not as a debilitating anxiety, but as a powerful tool that
propels the artist forward through her travels. It’s a song that hints at an endearing self-awareness also; the writer
is never at home, living life on the road, content that “the world will find me when the time is ripe.”
There’s never been a greater time. More
1
Molly Nilsson - No Title
2
Molly Nilsson - No Title
3
Molly Nilsson - No Title
4
Molly Nilsson - No Title
5
Molly Nilsson - No Title
6
Molly Nilsson - No Title
7
Molly Nilsson - No Title
8
Molly Nilsson - No Title
9
Molly Nilsson - No Title
10
Molly Nilsson - No Title
11
Molly Nilsson - No Title
Non Exclsuive LP (Red Vinyl)
1. Tender
Surrender
2. Let’s
Talk
About
Privileges
3. Mona-Lisa’s
Smile
4. Memory
Foam
5. American
Express
6. Money
Never
Dreams
7. Not
Today
Satan
8. Think
Pink
9. Modern
World
10. Inner
Cities
11. Theory
Of
Life
12. After
Life
That we live in a world changed is beyond question. Since 2015’s Zenith, Berlin-based songwriter Molly Nilsson
has surrendered to the world, traveling from Mexico to Glasgow, observing the changing socio-political
landscape and imagining a better world. For an artist who has so successfully created her own environment and
gradually let others in, her 8th studio album Imaginations sees Nilsson directly engaging with her surroundings,
engendering change and allowing love in. Imaginations dreams big, recasting storming, stadium-sized pop into
the internal language of the solo auteur. Imaginations is not escapism, it’s a kaleidoscope and an alternative
view, an agent of change.
Opener Tender Surrender encapsulates Imaginations, a tango on the ruins of the past, like many of Nilsson’s
best songs a collision between the political and personal. Though potentially a love song, there’s a glowing anger
in the lines “I want your ruin, I want destruction, I won’t be through until we mend this…” this is rapturous
transformation, order and chaos. Molly has built an almost 10 year career on perfectly summing up how we feel
and this is no different… Who else could write a song about privilege (Let’s Talk About Privileges) and make a
heart-rending chorus of “It’s never being afraid of the police, it’s expecting every thank you, every please.” The
artist’s vision on this album is perhaps more forceful than the emotionally fragile moments of previous album
Zenith, at times exemplified on songs like Memory Foam, a bright, driving pop song that belies themes of
nostalgia and the past, reminding us that Molly alone can make us feel so welcome in loneliness. If there’s overt
anger in songs like Money Never Sleeps, an anthem for a post-capitalist utopia if ever there was one, there’s
also seams of optimism sewn into the album’s genetic code. Any revolutionary will tell you that anger alone
achieves nothing - Nilsson’s mission on Imaginations is to offer some alternatives we can hold close. Not Today
Satan is a song about accepting love as the agent of change; “Don’t be sad, but do get mad at all the small men
who act so tall, in the end they always fall; there ain’t no sin in giving in to love, that’s just how we’re winning the
fight.” Love can be visceral, a weapon with which to fight the power.
On Imaginations Molly is recasting her interior monologue as a prism through which to see the world, a means to
live differently and to reject the status quo. We can Think Pink, change our destiny together. This is an optimism
about the future when we need it the most. “New boys, new girls.. give me your smile and I’ll give you mine”
Clearly, we are living through a transformation but with alchemists like Molly Nilsson, we’re never alone in the
process More
1. Tender
Surrender
2. Let’s
Talk
About
Privileges
3. Mona-Lisa’s
Smile
4. Memory
Foam
5. American
Express
6. Money
Never
Dreams
7. Not
Today
Satan
8. Think
Pink
9. Modern
World
10. Inner
Cities
11. Theory
Of
Life
12. After
Life
That we live in a world changed is beyond question. Since 2015’s Zenith, Berlin-based songwriter Molly Nilsson
has surrendered to the world, traveling from Mexico to Glasgow, observing the changing socio-political
landscape and imagining a better world. For an artist who has so successfully created her own environment and
gradually let others in, her 8th studio album Imaginations sees Nilsson directly engaging with her surroundings,
engendering change and allowing love in. Imaginations dreams big, recasting storming, stadium-sized pop into
the internal language of the solo auteur. Imaginations is not escapism, it’s a kaleidoscope and an alternative
view, an agent of change.
Opener Tender Surrender encapsulates Imaginations, a tango on the ruins of the past, like many of Nilsson’s
best songs a collision between the political and personal. Though potentially a love song, there’s a glowing anger
in the lines “I want your ruin, I want destruction, I won’t be through until we mend this…” this is rapturous
transformation, order and chaos. Molly has built an almost 10 year career on perfectly summing up how we feel
and this is no different… Who else could write a song about privilege (Let’s Talk About Privileges) and make a
heart-rending chorus of “It’s never being afraid of the police, it’s expecting every thank you, every please.” The
artist’s vision on this album is perhaps more forceful than the emotionally fragile moments of previous album
Zenith, at times exemplified on songs like Memory Foam, a bright, driving pop song that belies themes of
nostalgia and the past, reminding us that Molly alone can make us feel so welcome in loneliness. If there’s overt
anger in songs like Money Never Sleeps, an anthem for a post-capitalist utopia if ever there was one, there’s
also seams of optimism sewn into the album’s genetic code. Any revolutionary will tell you that anger alone
achieves nothing - Nilsson’s mission on Imaginations is to offer some alternatives we can hold close. Not Today
Satan is a song about accepting love as the agent of change; “Don’t be sad, but do get mad at all the small men
who act so tall, in the end they always fall; there ain’t no sin in giving in to love, that’s just how we’re winning the
fight.” Love can be visceral, a weapon with which to fight the power.
On Imaginations Molly is recasting her interior monologue as a prism through which to see the world, a means to
live differently and to reject the status quo. We can Think Pink, change our destiny together. This is an optimism
about the future when we need it the most. “New boys, new girls.. give me your smile and I’ll give you mine”
Clearly, we are living through a transformation but with alchemists like Molly Nilsson, we’re never alone in the
process More
Format: LP
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
1
Molly Nilsson - No Title
2
Molly Nilsson - No Title
3
Molly Nilsson - No Title
4
Molly Nilsson - No Title
5
Molly Nilsson - No Title
6
Molly Nilsson - No Title
7
Molly Nilsson - No Title
8
Molly Nilsson - No Title
9
Molly Nilsson - No Title
10
Molly Nilsson - No Title
11
Molly Nilsson - No Title
12
Molly Nilsson - No Title
Non Exclsuive LP (Yelllow Vinyl)
The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist
Molly Nilsson.
Starting out by hand-dubbing CDrs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s
art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs
are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy
pathos.
Journeys offer change - the possibility of renewal - and accordingly on The Travels Molly Nilsson’s
resonant voice is found curling around a new sense of optimism and wide-eyed discovery that was only
alluded to in her previous work. Songs like “Dear Life” might be spiked with a barbed sense of the
dejected, but the presiding feeling is one of optimism, of being in love with life despite a shield of
cynicism. “Dirty Fingers” brings a melancholy recognisable from previous work but with an incessant beat
and ecstatic underpinning it becomes apparent that a new force is at play here. In case the listener
missed it, “The Power Ballad” brings an endearing, sincerity to proceedings that also offers a tantalising
question: can you be sceptical about love but still be bewitched?
On her 5th long-player, Nilsson’s perspective is challenged and manipulated by changes in
environment and psychological space: like any other traveller the protagonist brings their own set of
values and emotional states to new places, colouring them with a wash of subjectivity. Like any other
traveller Molly Nilsson reacts to her environment and shares her unique version of it to other people.
Based loosely on Marco Polo’s “Travels” and reading like a map of the protagonist’s geographical and
inner journey, The Travels reveals new places and new emotions that are never the same to the
beholder. Nilsson’s art is in turning this subjectivity into a cloak that almost anyone can don for the trip More
The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist
Molly Nilsson.
Starting out by hand-dubbing CDrs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s
art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs
are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy
pathos.
Journeys offer change - the possibility of renewal - and accordingly on The Travels Molly Nilsson’s
resonant voice is found curling around a new sense of optimism and wide-eyed discovery that was only
alluded to in her previous work. Songs like “Dear Life” might be spiked with a barbed sense of the
dejected, but the presiding feeling is one of optimism, of being in love with life despite a shield of
cynicism. “Dirty Fingers” brings a melancholy recognisable from previous work but with an incessant beat
and ecstatic underpinning it becomes apparent that a new force is at play here. In case the listener
missed it, “The Power Ballad” brings an endearing, sincerity to proceedings that also offers a tantalising
question: can you be sceptical about love but still be bewitched?
On her 5th long-player, Nilsson’s perspective is challenged and manipulated by changes in
environment and psychological space: like any other traveller the protagonist brings their own set of
values and emotional states to new places, colouring them with a wash of subjectivity. Like any other
traveller Molly Nilsson reacts to her environment and shares her unique version of it to other people.
Based loosely on Marco Polo’s “Travels” and reading like a map of the protagonist’s geographical and
inner journey, The Travels reveals new places and new emotions that are never the same to the
beholder. Nilsson’s art is in turning this subjectivity into a cloak that almost anyone can don for the trip More
1
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
2
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
3
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
4
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
5
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
6
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
7
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
8
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
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MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
Format: LP
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
Non Exclsuive CD
The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist
Molly Nilsson.
Starting out by hand-dubbing CDrs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s
art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs
are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy
pathos.
Journeys offer change - the possibility of renewal - and accordingly on The Travels Molly Nilsson’s
resonant voice is found curling around a new sense of optimism and wide-eyed discovery that was only
alluded to in her previous work. Songs like “Dear Life” might be spiked with a barbed sense of the
dejected, but the presiding feeling is one of optimism, of being in love with life despite a shield of
cynicism. “Dirty Fingers” brings a melancholy recognisable from previous work but with an incessant beat
and ecstatic underpinning it becomes apparent that a new force is at play here. In case the listener
missed it, “The Power Ballad” brings an endearing, sincerity to proceedings that also offers a tantalising
question: can you be sceptical about love but still be bewitched?
On her 5th long-player, Nilsson’s perspective is challenged and manipulated by changes in
environment and psychological space: like any other traveller the protagonist brings their own set of
values and emotional states to new places, colouring them with a wash of subjectivity. Like any other
traveller Molly Nilsson reacts to her environment and shares her unique version of it to other people.
Based loosely on Marco Polo’s “Travels” and reading like a map of the protagonist’s geographical and
inner journey, The Travels reveals new places and new emotions that are never the same to the
beholder. Nilsson’s art is in turning this subjectivity into a cloak that almost anyone can don for the trip More
The Travels represents a signpost in the continuing journey that is the songs of Berlin-based artist
Molly Nilsson.
Starting out by hand-dubbing CDrs and forging a singular path in the global pop underground, Nilsson’s
art has grown to the extent where hers is a precise songwriting devoid of unnecessary flourish. Her songs
are perfect silhouettes of feelings everyone shares but that few can articulate with such heart-rending, icy
pathos.
Journeys offer change - the possibility of renewal - and accordingly on The Travels Molly Nilsson’s
resonant voice is found curling around a new sense of optimism and wide-eyed discovery that was only
alluded to in her previous work. Songs like “Dear Life” might be spiked with a barbed sense of the
dejected, but the presiding feeling is one of optimism, of being in love with life despite a shield of
cynicism. “Dirty Fingers” brings a melancholy recognisable from previous work but with an incessant beat
and ecstatic underpinning it becomes apparent that a new force is at play here. In case the listener
missed it, “The Power Ballad” brings an endearing, sincerity to proceedings that also offers a tantalising
question: can you be sceptical about love but still be bewitched?
On her 5th long-player, Nilsson’s perspective is challenged and manipulated by changes in
environment and psychological space: like any other traveller the protagonist brings their own set of
values and emotional states to new places, colouring them with a wash of subjectivity. Like any other
traveller Molly Nilsson reacts to her environment and shares her unique version of it to other people.
Based loosely on Marco Polo’s “Travels” and reading like a map of the protagonist’s geographical and
inner journey, The Travels reveals new places and new emotions that are never the same to the
beholder. Nilsson’s art is in turning this subjectivity into a cloak that almost anyone can don for the trip More
1
Molly Nilsson - No Title
2
Molly Nilsson - No Title
3
Molly Nilsson - No Title
4
Molly Nilsson - No Title
5
Molly Nilsson - No Title
6
Molly Nilsson - No Title
7
Molly Nilsson - No Title
8
Molly Nilsson - No Title
9
Molly Nilsson - No Title
10
Molly Nilsson - No Title
11
Molly Nilsson - No Title
Non Exclsuive LP
1. Absolute Power
2. Earth Girls
3. Fearless Like A Child
4. Kids Today
5. Intermezzo X – Wheel Of Fortune
6. Sweet Smell Of Success
7. Obnoxiously Talented
8. Avoid Heaven
9. Take Me To Your Leader
10. They Will Pay
11. Pompeii
“The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin
prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“
Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme
is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering
solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of
the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.
Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the
centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to
grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar
Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career.
“Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls
has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness
bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his
prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the
female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator
surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to
learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I
feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in
places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.
Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the
eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s
shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it,
this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power
and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's
an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of
encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll
call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s
even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a
method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.
They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk
pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect
in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith,
or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the
heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of
Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning
small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of
jewels, it might be the shining star.
Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love More
1. Absolute Power
2. Earth Girls
3. Fearless Like A Child
4. Kids Today
5. Intermezzo X – Wheel Of Fortune
6. Sweet Smell Of Success
7. Obnoxiously Talented
8. Avoid Heaven
9. Take Me To Your Leader
10. They Will Pay
11. Pompeii
“The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin
prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“
Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme
is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering
solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of
the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.
Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the
centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to
grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar
Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career.
“Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls
has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness
bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his
prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the
female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator
surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to
learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I
feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in
places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.
Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the
eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s
shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it,
this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power
and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's
an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of
encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll
call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s
even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a
method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.
They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk
pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect
in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith,
or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the
heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of
Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning
small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of
jewels, it might be the shining star.
Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love More
More records from Night School Records
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
CD
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
CD
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
1
Sorrow - Soldier
2
Sorrow - Love Dies
3
Sorrow - Turn Off The Light
4
Sorrow - Haunting
5
Sorrow - Fear Becomes You
6
Sorrow - October Faul
7
Sorrow - Wishing Stone
8
Sorrow - Nomadic Man
9
Sorrow - Epiphany
10
Sorrow - Angel
11
Sorrow - Sleep Now Forever
2LP, 2nd Pressing
Black Vinyl, one side etched.
Limited to 300 only.
With Lyric insert, matt sleeve with spot varnish front detail.- Territories: WW-US,UK
1. Soldier
2. Love Dies
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Haunting
5. Fear Becomes You
6. October Faul
7. Wishing Stone
8. Nomadic Man
9. Epiphany
10. Angel
11. Sleep Now Forever
Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted
by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk
music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal
performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep
Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work
to date.
Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which
struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s
troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only,
original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release,
Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist
Holly Allan.
Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed
and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an
array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan
Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve
around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable
and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe
and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this
beautiful could be lost to time until now.
McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and
redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier
benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and
percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency
dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching
lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with
chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s
psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally
resurfacing from the darkness.
Sleep Now Forever is being released on 2LP on April 20th, 2024. Limited to 500. More
Black Vinyl, one side etched.
Limited to 300 only.
With Lyric insert, matt sleeve with spot varnish front detail.- Territories: WW-US,UK
1. Soldier
2. Love Dies
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Haunting
5. Fear Becomes You
6. October Faul
7. Wishing Stone
8. Nomadic Man
9. Epiphany
10. Angel
11. Sleep Now Forever
Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted
by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk
music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal
performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep
Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work
to date.
Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which
struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s
troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only,
original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release,
Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist
Holly Allan.
Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed
and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an
array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan
Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve
around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable
and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe
and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this
beautiful could be lost to time until now.
McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and
redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier
benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and
percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency
dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching
lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with
chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s
psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally
resurfacing from the darkness.
Sleep Now Forever is being released on 2LP on April 20th, 2024. Limited to 500. More
1
Sorrow - No Title
2
Sorrow - No Title
3
Sorrow - No Title
4
Sorrow - No Title
5
Sorrow - No Title
6
Sorrow - No Title
7
Sorrow - No Title
8
Sorrow - No Title
9
Sorrow - No Title
10
Sorrow - No Title
11
Sorrow - No Title
CD 20 page booklet / O-Card / 500 only - Territories: WW-US,UK
Limited to 500 only.
Available on CD for the first time in 25 years!
1. Soldier
2. Love Dies
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Haunting
5. Fear Becomes You
6. October Faul
7. Wishing Stone
8. Nomadic Man
9. Epiphany
10. Angel
11. Sleep Now Forever
Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted
by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk
music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal
performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep
Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work
to date.
Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which
struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s
troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only,
original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release,
Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist
Holly Allan.
Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed
and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an
array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan
Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve
around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable
and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe
and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this
beautiful could be lost to time until now.
McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and
redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier
benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and
percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency
dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching
lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with
chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s
psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally
resurfacing from the darkness.
Sleep Now Forever is being released on 2LP on April 20th, 2024. Limited to 500. More
Limited to 500 only.
Available on CD for the first time in 25 years!
1. Soldier
2. Love Dies
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Haunting
5. Fear Becomes You
6. October Faul
7. Wishing Stone
8. Nomadic Man
9. Epiphany
10. Angel
11. Sleep Now Forever
Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted
by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk
music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal
performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep
Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work
to date.
Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which
struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s
troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only,
original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release,
Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist
Holly Allan.
Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed
and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an
array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan
Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve
around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable
and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe
and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this
beautiful could be lost to time until now.
McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and
redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier
benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and
percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency
dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching
lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with
chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s
psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally
resurfacing from the darkness.
Sleep Now Forever is being released on 2LP on April 20th, 2024. Limited to 500. More
LP, Terrtory: WW-UKUSA-BNLX
**LTD PINK VINYL REPRESS**
Tracklist: 1. The City Was 2. Always 3. Comet 4 4. Behind The Fire 5. Feel The Way 6. Sonya's Lament 7. Already Over 8. What We Found 9. With Us For Now 10. Wider Arcs 11. The Return
It’s abundantly clear from the first bars of their 5th studio album Through Other Reflection, that this is, and could only ever be, The Soundcarriers. From the enchanting vocal duets of folk-bidden Chanteuses Leonore Wheatley and Dorian Conway; to the precise bass lines of Paul Isherwood and the limber, jazz-cool, Hal Blaine-esque drums of his his co-songwriter Adam Cann; from the fairy-like flutes, 60s-garage guitars and organ sounds pilfered from the archives of exotica - listening to the Soundcarriers resembles a rediscovery of all the most prized, esoteric corners of the 1960s, all bundled up, warped and refracted through the quartet’s astutely modern cultural lens. Channelling Tropicalia, Middle Eastern psychedelic Jazz/Funk, The French Library sounds of Nino Nardini, and a whole host of lavish obscurites beside, Through Other Reflection delivers another sonic adventure from one of the most unique and distinctive voices of British Psychedelia.
After an 8 year wait for their album 4 - 2022’s Wilds - it thankfully didn’t take so long for the follow-up this time round. In many ways, this feels like a companion to Wilds; recording again at their Nottingham warehouse studio, Through Other Reflection retains that same organic glow, all the passions and imperfections of a tightly clipped unit jamming out these living, breathing pop-art nuggets as if straight onto the acetate.”We wanted to keep an air of spontaneity with this album and not get too bogged with the recording process”, explains Cann, “It was more a case of getting the songs as tightly written and arranged as possible first so we could get them down quickly in the studio. It always takes longer than you think”
Less packed with strident pop hooks as its predecessor however, the music of Through… has been given extra licence to breathe, stretch out, and wander more uncharted terrains. While gleaming psych-pop of tracks like ‘The City Was’, or ‘Already Over’ confidently carry on from where they left off, from the album’s 2nd track ‘Always’, the trip becomes a little less predictable. Starting out as a smoky Procol Harum-meets-French-Psych organ ballad, the music drifts, as if of its own accord into an eerie, garage trance that lingers, cycles, and hypnotises, growing ever stranger, reaching ever-further away from its point of conception.
And almost every track on Through Other Reflections holds that outer-body moment, where the band fix themselves on a limber, lysergic groove, lose all grip on time and reality, and melt themselves away into a liquid state of blind euphoria. There are sequences on this record that feel more like rituals than songs, built upon a single hypnotic rhythm which, like the centre of a vortex, pulling everything under its beatific command. Take the finale to ‘What We Found’ for instance, sounding like a ghostly march across the psychedelic moors, or ‘Feel The Way’, where a single athletic drum-loop rises and rises, growing ever more urgent and suspenseful underneath its frantic harpsichords and rasping flutes.
Full of such rich stylisms as these, The Soundcarriers showcase themselves as abstract storytellers par excellence by virtue of their textures and arrangements alone. Resembling Romantic composer Maurice Ravel, but if he had just a four-piece rock band at his disposal, Through Other Reflects is rich with detail; there’s shakers, rattles, clarinets, booming drums; there’s synthesiser swarms, chiming xylophones, vintage organs and experimental Cluster & Eno-esque ambiences. Within all this nuance the music flows like some undisclosed narrative swathed in a magnetic secrecy. “It almost comes across like a story in some ways”, says Cann of the album, “the music is quite sectional with elements of exotica and cinematic type layers, it's a good balance of grooves, tunes and weirdness”. No more is this “epic cinematic feel” heard more proudly than on short instrumental ‘Sonya’s Lament” - its innate, hauntological atmospheres befitting a Peter Strickland soundtrack, or the classics of Lex Baxter, the so-called ‘Founder of Exotica’ himself.
On the other hand, providing a greasier undercurrent to all these bucolic sounds is a leaning towards a more “direct” lyricism referencing more “external concerns. Laying down the first tracks for the album in the wintry gloom of pre-lockdown 2020, and drawing inspiration from time spent in Berlin, Through Other Reflections returns to some of the post-apocalyptic futurism explored in 2014’s Entropicalia - a loose concept album inspired by J.G Ballard’s The Drowned World. “The songs explore a disillusionment with the way things are going particularly after 40 years of neoliberalism”, says Cann, “They follow that folk-song tradition of wanting to escape to an imagined time, but here it’s more urban than pastoral. The first couple of ideas I came up with when doing some music in Berlin and had some time to wander aimlessly. And think the atmosphere seeped in, particularly on The City Was and Already Over.
He continues, “One aspect of the title, ‘Through Other Reflections’ is about synthesis and layers of influence. How things can be filtered through other things and change the perspective. This is something you get in cities as well.” Though, as with everything The Soundcarriers make, “It can mean anything. It also just sounds kind of cool.”
More
**LTD PINK VINYL REPRESS**
Tracklist: 1. The City Was 2. Always 3. Comet 4 4. Behind The Fire 5. Feel The Way 6. Sonya's Lament 7. Already Over 8. What We Found 9. With Us For Now 10. Wider Arcs 11. The Return
It’s abundantly clear from the first bars of their 5th studio album Through Other Reflection, that this is, and could only ever be, The Soundcarriers. From the enchanting vocal duets of folk-bidden Chanteuses Leonore Wheatley and Dorian Conway; to the precise bass lines of Paul Isherwood and the limber, jazz-cool, Hal Blaine-esque drums of his his co-songwriter Adam Cann; from the fairy-like flutes, 60s-garage guitars and organ sounds pilfered from the archives of exotica - listening to the Soundcarriers resembles a rediscovery of all the most prized, esoteric corners of the 1960s, all bundled up, warped and refracted through the quartet’s astutely modern cultural lens. Channelling Tropicalia, Middle Eastern psychedelic Jazz/Funk, The French Library sounds of Nino Nardini, and a whole host of lavish obscurites beside, Through Other Reflection delivers another sonic adventure from one of the most unique and distinctive voices of British Psychedelia.
After an 8 year wait for their album 4 - 2022’s Wilds - it thankfully didn’t take so long for the follow-up this time round. In many ways, this feels like a companion to Wilds; recording again at their Nottingham warehouse studio, Through Other Reflection retains that same organic glow, all the passions and imperfections of a tightly clipped unit jamming out these living, breathing pop-art nuggets as if straight onto the acetate.”We wanted to keep an air of spontaneity with this album and not get too bogged with the recording process”, explains Cann, “It was more a case of getting the songs as tightly written and arranged as possible first so we could get them down quickly in the studio. It always takes longer than you think”
Less packed with strident pop hooks as its predecessor however, the music of Through… has been given extra licence to breathe, stretch out, and wander more uncharted terrains. While gleaming psych-pop of tracks like ‘The City Was’, or ‘Already Over’ confidently carry on from where they left off, from the album’s 2nd track ‘Always’, the trip becomes a little less predictable. Starting out as a smoky Procol Harum-meets-French-Psych organ ballad, the music drifts, as if of its own accord into an eerie, garage trance that lingers, cycles, and hypnotises, growing ever stranger, reaching ever-further away from its point of conception.
And almost every track on Through Other Reflections holds that outer-body moment, where the band fix themselves on a limber, lysergic groove, lose all grip on time and reality, and melt themselves away into a liquid state of blind euphoria. There are sequences on this record that feel more like rituals than songs, built upon a single hypnotic rhythm which, like the centre of a vortex, pulling everything under its beatific command. Take the finale to ‘What We Found’ for instance, sounding like a ghostly march across the psychedelic moors, or ‘Feel The Way’, where a single athletic drum-loop rises and rises, growing ever more urgent and suspenseful underneath its frantic harpsichords and rasping flutes.
Full of such rich stylisms as these, The Soundcarriers showcase themselves as abstract storytellers par excellence by virtue of their textures and arrangements alone. Resembling Romantic composer Maurice Ravel, but if he had just a four-piece rock band at his disposal, Through Other Reflects is rich with detail; there’s shakers, rattles, clarinets, booming drums; there’s synthesiser swarms, chiming xylophones, vintage organs and experimental Cluster & Eno-esque ambiences. Within all this nuance the music flows like some undisclosed narrative swathed in a magnetic secrecy. “It almost comes across like a story in some ways”, says Cann of the album, “the music is quite sectional with elements of exotica and cinematic type layers, it's a good balance of grooves, tunes and weirdness”. No more is this “epic cinematic feel” heard more proudly than on short instrumental ‘Sonya’s Lament” - its innate, hauntological atmospheres befitting a Peter Strickland soundtrack, or the classics of Lex Baxter, the so-called ‘Founder of Exotica’ himself.
On the other hand, providing a greasier undercurrent to all these bucolic sounds is a leaning towards a more “direct” lyricism referencing more “external concerns. Laying down the first tracks for the album in the wintry gloom of pre-lockdown 2020, and drawing inspiration from time spent in Berlin, Through Other Reflections returns to some of the post-apocalyptic futurism explored in 2014’s Entropicalia - a loose concept album inspired by J.G Ballard’s The Drowned World. “The songs explore a disillusionment with the way things are going particularly after 40 years of neoliberalism”, says Cann, “They follow that folk-song tradition of wanting to escape to an imagined time, but here it’s more urban than pastoral. The first couple of ideas I came up with when doing some music in Berlin and had some time to wander aimlessly. And think the atmosphere seeped in, particularly on The City Was and Already Over.
He continues, “One aspect of the title, ‘Through Other Reflections’ is about synthesis and layers of influence. How things can be filtered through other things and change the perspective. This is something you get in cities as well.” Though, as with everything The Soundcarriers make, “It can mean anything. It also just sounds kind of cool.”
More
1
Tristwch y Fenywod - 1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2
Tristwch y Fenywod - 2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3
Tristwch y Fenywod - 3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4
Tristwch y Fenywod - 4. Llwydwyrdd
5
Tristwch y Fenywod - 5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
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Tristwch y Fenywod - 6. Gelain Görs
7
Tristwch y Fenywod - 7. Awen
8
Tristwch y Fenywod - 8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
1
Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
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Mope Grooves - No Title
2LP, LTD 500 , Black Vinyl -- Territories: WW-US,CA,UK,FR,BENELUX
The final album from stevie’s Mope Grooves,
the seminal Portland collective. A 2 hour, 27
track masterpiece of touching, warped music
that transcends genre into a realm of pure
inspiration.
All profits from this release will be donated to
Survived and Punished charity.
Tracklist:
1.Controlled Burn
2.Aileen
3.Pieces Of God
4.Forever Is A Long Time 03:19
5.Do You Hear Music
6.Home Sick
7.We Won
8.Swail
9.Here Comes The Moon
10.Hallway Of Crucified Angels
11.Fox Highway
12.Harp Circles
13.Wind Follows Me Home
14.Cap Hits The Button
15.Si Fuese Violeta
16.Wall Of Swords
17.Switch Cars
18.Continue & Intensify
19.Les Anges Passent
20.Here Comes The Rain
21.Turning Fire
22.Simple As That
23.Life Is Good
24.Dora
25.Isn't It Hard
26.Tired All The Time
27.Box Of Dark Roses
Through the fog of our grief in the wake of the earth-shattering loss of our beloved angel Stevie, on this
day which would have been her 35th birthday, we announce the release of Mope Groove’s final album; Box
of Dark Roses. A 27 song, 2XLP of songs that Stevie prepared for release before she left. In addition to the
music, Stevie provided extensive liner notes to accompany the album. These are included with the album in
the form of a zine, or as a digital PDF, respectively.
"If i'm ever hard to get a hold of u can find my whole heart in here."
-Stevie (from her liner notes)
Rest in peace sweet angel. We love you forever.
Stevie provided the following statement on the album before her departure:
"all artist profits and digital proceeds will be redistributed in perpetuity to incarcerated or formerly
incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, especially the many women and other
gender marginalized ppl incarcerated for defending themselves against their attackers. funds will be
allocated to the Survived and Punished NY Mutual Aid Fund, a comparable organization, or directly into
commissary funds or fundraisers of incarcerated survivors.
"box of dark roses is a 27 song LP where the same images repeat and repeat until you might have some
idea of what roses have to do with armed struggle, trans autonomy, losing your house (again), angels,
women political prisoners, violence returned to sender, suicided poets, refusing to recant, insisting on life,
& how the revenge of twenty billion screaming ghost women could unmake the worst of all possible
worlds” More
The final album from stevie’s Mope Grooves,
the seminal Portland collective. A 2 hour, 27
track masterpiece of touching, warped music
that transcends genre into a realm of pure
inspiration.
All profits from this release will be donated to
Survived and Punished charity.
Tracklist:
1.Controlled Burn
2.Aileen
3.Pieces Of God
4.Forever Is A Long Time 03:19
5.Do You Hear Music
6.Home Sick
7.We Won
8.Swail
9.Here Comes The Moon
10.Hallway Of Crucified Angels
11.Fox Highway
12.Harp Circles
13.Wind Follows Me Home
14.Cap Hits The Button
15.Si Fuese Violeta
16.Wall Of Swords
17.Switch Cars
18.Continue & Intensify
19.Les Anges Passent
20.Here Comes The Rain
21.Turning Fire
22.Simple As That
23.Life Is Good
24.Dora
25.Isn't It Hard
26.Tired All The Time
27.Box Of Dark Roses
Through the fog of our grief in the wake of the earth-shattering loss of our beloved angel Stevie, on this
day which would have been her 35th birthday, we announce the release of Mope Groove’s final album; Box
of Dark Roses. A 27 song, 2XLP of songs that Stevie prepared for release before she left. In addition to the
music, Stevie provided extensive liner notes to accompany the album. These are included with the album in
the form of a zine, or as a digital PDF, respectively.
"If i'm ever hard to get a hold of u can find my whole heart in here."
-Stevie (from her liner notes)
Rest in peace sweet angel. We love you forever.
Stevie provided the following statement on the album before her departure:
"all artist profits and digital proceeds will be redistributed in perpetuity to incarcerated or formerly
incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, especially the many women and other
gender marginalized ppl incarcerated for defending themselves against their attackers. funds will be
allocated to the Survived and Punished NY Mutual Aid Fund, a comparable organization, or directly into
commissary funds or fundraisers of incarcerated survivors.
"box of dark roses is a 27 song LP where the same images repeat and repeat until you might have some
idea of what roses have to do with armed struggle, trans autonomy, losing your house (again), angels,
women political prisoners, violence returned to sender, suicided poets, refusing to recant, insisting on life,
& how the revenge of twenty billion screaming ghost women could unmake the worst of all possible
worlds” More
1
Tristwch y Fenywod - 1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2
Tristwch y Fenywod - 2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3
Tristwch y Fenywod - 3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4
Tristwch y Fenywod - 4. Llwydwyrdd
5
Tristwch y Fenywod - 5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6
Tristwch y Fenywod - 6. Gelain Görs
7
Tristwch y Fenywod - 7. Awen
8
Tristwch y Fenywod - 8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
LIMITED GLOW-IN-THE-DARK VINYL REPRESS DUE TO THE RAPID SELLING OUT OF THE FIRST PRESSING!!
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
LIMITED GLOW-IN-THE-DARK VINYL REPRESS DUE TO THE RAPID SELLING OUT OF THE FIRST PRESSING!!
Tracklist
1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain Görs
7. Awen
8. ‘Nes I Ddawnsio Efo’r Lleuad
Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moonglow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock powercoven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch
Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The
Courtneys).
Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just
10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the
Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and
bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial
rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the
waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring.
The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric,
occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony
around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads.
Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts
Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can
Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass
and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical
theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album,
particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee
breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos.
The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023. More
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
CD
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
CD
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Karl D’Silva - 1. On The Outside
2
Karl D’Silva - 2. Entropy
3
Karl D’Silva - 3. Wild Kiss
4
Karl D’Silva - 4. Flowers Start To Cry
5
Karl D’Silva - 5. The Crucible
6
Karl D’Silva - 6. Nowhere Left To Run
7
Karl D’Silva - 7. Real Life
8
Karl D’Silva - 8. Shine Brightly
9
Karl D’Silva - 9. The Butcher
10
Karl D’Silva - 10. Love Is A Flame In The Dark
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Black Vinyl LP
Tracklist
1. On The Outside
2. Entropy
3. Wild Kiss
4. Flowers Start To Cry
5. The Crucible
6. Nowhere Left To Run
7. Real Life
8. Shine Brightly
9. The Butcher
10. Love Is A Flame In The Dark
Love Is A Flame In The Dark is the debut album by experimental songwriter Karl D’Silva. A raw labour of love, a towering
spire of twisted steel, tenderness and becoming, it’s a body of songs that belies the virtuoso talents of an artist whose
reputation has been built on collaborating with various avant garde underground luminaries. Self-recorded at home in
Rotherham and pulsing with the conviction of a true believer, these songs burst out of their self-consciousness to meet life
head on, bristling with energy, 10 glimpses of the human spirit in the darkness.
Recorded throughout 2021 - 2023 and mixed in Leeds with engineer Ross Halden, D’Silva has constructed a Pop language for
himself. Mutated songs that owe a small debt to the post-Industrial music of Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails and Coil,
they’re nonetheless powered by a vigorous tenderness, earnestness and D’Silva’s knack for melody. Each song is meticulously
sound-designed, using synthesised sounds created from scratch married with D’Silva’s virtuoso playing on saxophone and
guitar. The songs on Love Is A Flame In The Dark are unabashed, earnest love letters to living, requiems for a world fading away
and small gestures of solidarity in the face of entropy.
Until now, D’Silva’s fingerprints could be found on live dates with Thurston Moore, Oren Ambarchi, Hardcore pioneers Siege
and Rian Treanor as well as recordings by previous groups Trumpets Of Death and Drunk In Hell. Primarily associated with
the alto saxophone in his improvisation work, Love Is A Flame In The Dark features a dizzying array of instrumentation, all
played by D’Silva. D’Silva’s current membership of the group Vanishing may be a good touchstone for the dense, sonically
thrilling world-building on the album but the most striking instrument, perhaps, is D’Silva’s voice. With a soulful, rasping timbre
resulting from prolonged intubation as a new-born, his vocal is both fearless and tender. On the soaring, electronic body mover
Wild Kiss, thundering percussion is in service to Karl’s voice full of desire, arching up into a flayed falsetto. It’s a trick repeated
on Flowers Start To Cry, where it’s deployed against the backdrop of layers of ripping alto and thudding drum programming
that recall Nine Inch Nails’ visceral production, if they were covering a Prince hit. These songs capture the essence of 2024’s
Karl D’Silva music; pure physicality breaking down to reveal a shining, compassionate vulnerability.
The full breadth of Karl D’Silva’s instrumental prowess is in evidence from the off. On The Outside imagines blooming out of
personal apocalypse with a soundscape of synth, saxophone worthy of any late 60s Free Jazz blower and crushing sound
design. Entropy is planet-sized synth pop, Nowhere Left To Run uses midi-string orchestration to tell a story of light emerging
from the dark. It’s a theme picked up throughout the album: The Butcher is a political parable, the narrator holding power to
account with grotesque, brutal imagery. It’s on a track like Real Life that the true message emerges, however. D’Silva is peering
through the layers of artifice, struggle and the fog of daily living to find a life full of energy, connection and light. Each song here
is a route into this light, out of the darkness. More
Black Vinyl LP
Tracklist
1. On The Outside
2. Entropy
3. Wild Kiss
4. Flowers Start To Cry
5. The Crucible
6. Nowhere Left To Run
7. Real Life
8. Shine Brightly
9. The Butcher
10. Love Is A Flame In The Dark
Love Is A Flame In The Dark is the debut album by experimental songwriter Karl D’Silva. A raw labour of love, a towering
spire of twisted steel, tenderness and becoming, it’s a body of songs that belies the virtuoso talents of an artist whose
reputation has been built on collaborating with various avant garde underground luminaries. Self-recorded at home in
Rotherham and pulsing with the conviction of a true believer, these songs burst out of their self-consciousness to meet life
head on, bristling with energy, 10 glimpses of the human spirit in the darkness.
Recorded throughout 2021 - 2023 and mixed in Leeds with engineer Ross Halden, D’Silva has constructed a Pop language for
himself. Mutated songs that owe a small debt to the post-Industrial music of Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails and Coil,
they’re nonetheless powered by a vigorous tenderness, earnestness and D’Silva’s knack for melody. Each song is meticulously
sound-designed, using synthesised sounds created from scratch married with D’Silva’s virtuoso playing on saxophone and
guitar. The songs on Love Is A Flame In The Dark are unabashed, earnest love letters to living, requiems for a world fading away
and small gestures of solidarity in the face of entropy.
Until now, D’Silva’s fingerprints could be found on live dates with Thurston Moore, Oren Ambarchi, Hardcore pioneers Siege
and Rian Treanor as well as recordings by previous groups Trumpets Of Death and Drunk In Hell. Primarily associated with
the alto saxophone in his improvisation work, Love Is A Flame In The Dark features a dizzying array of instrumentation, all
played by D’Silva. D’Silva’s current membership of the group Vanishing may be a good touchstone for the dense, sonically
thrilling world-building on the album but the most striking instrument, perhaps, is D’Silva’s voice. With a soulful, rasping timbre
resulting from prolonged intubation as a new-born, his vocal is both fearless and tender. On the soaring, electronic body mover
Wild Kiss, thundering percussion is in service to Karl’s voice full of desire, arching up into a flayed falsetto. It’s a trick repeated
on Flowers Start To Cry, where it’s deployed against the backdrop of layers of ripping alto and thudding drum programming
that recall Nine Inch Nails’ visceral production, if they were covering a Prince hit. These songs capture the essence of 2024’s
Karl D’Silva music; pure physicality breaking down to reveal a shining, compassionate vulnerability.
The full breadth of Karl D’Silva’s instrumental prowess is in evidence from the off. On The Outside imagines blooming out of
personal apocalypse with a soundscape of synth, saxophone worthy of any late 60s Free Jazz blower and crushing sound
design. Entropy is planet-sized synth pop, Nowhere Left To Run uses midi-string orchestration to tell a story of light emerging
from the dark. It’s a theme picked up throughout the album: The Butcher is a political parable, the narrator holding power to
account with grotesque, brutal imagery. It’s on a track like Real Life that the true message emerges, however. D’Silva is peering
through the layers of artifice, struggle and the fog of daily living to find a life full of energy, connection and light. Each song here
is a route into this light, out of the darkness. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Excalibur
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Palestine
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Jackboots Return
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Wetcheeks
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Red Telephone
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Naming Names
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. The Communist Party
9
Molly Nilsson - 9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10
Molly Nilsson - 10. Point Doom
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
Black Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Excalibur
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Palestine
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Jackboots Return
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Wetcheeks
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Red Telephone
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Naming Names
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. The Communist Party
9
Molly Nilsson - 9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10
Molly Nilsson - 10. Point Doom
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Amery - Mountain FM
2
Amery - Hotwire The Nite
3
Amery - Spirit Is Broken
4
Amery - Ennui
5
Amery - Miracles
6
Amery - Rocker Blues
7
Amery - C9 (with Fireball Kid)
8
Amery - Continue As Amery
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
1. Mountain FM
2. Hotwire The Nite
3. Spirit Is Broken
4. Ennui
5. Miracles
6. Rocker Blues
7. C9 (with Fireball Kid)
8. Continue As Amery
Continue As Amery is the debut album by Montreal-based artist Amery. Formerly recording under the moniker Alpen Glow, Continue As Amery sees the songwriter step out into a bold, colourful world full of pop hooks, snagging feelings of abandon and the mornings after.
Amery Sandford began releasing as Alpen Glow in 2020 after years playing in punk groups in Newfoundland and as half of Montreal pop duo Born At Midnite (Arbutus). Recorded in Montreal by David Carriere (TOPS, Marci), Patrick Holland, and Kristian North, Continue As Amery is a blast of melodic joie de vivre. On her debut Sandford brings her punk and DIY credentials into sharp focus on 8 perfect pop odes to city living, making mistakes and figuring it out as you go along. Suffuse with powerful imagery and an almost uncanny talent at spinning out hooks brimming with humour and spirit, Amery’s soundworld is informed by friendship, experience and by her day job as a renowned illustrator and visual artist. Beginning Alpen Glow in a spirit of fun and now shedding the alias, Amery’s ready to hotwire the nite.
Each song is rich with story. Mountain FM, named for the radio station in Sandford’s home town in the mountains of Alberta, launches into a tale of speeding, blasting the radio too loud, the giddy burning of rubber with no care in the world to slow you down. Featuring live band members Sarah Harris, Jack Bielli, and Frank Climenhage, the singer bristles to get out of her stifling hometown while lamenting the wide eyed adventurer who left for the big city. On Hotwire The Nite, Amery is out on the town, with imagery loaded with the night’s promise. Amery sings “Black candle / Dripping intel / Dagger hanging by an emerald handle / Holy roller that I just can’t have without my hand on an old flame,” diving in and out of fantasy and desire over a pulsating banger. Moments like these feel like a thesis on aural pleasure, with the production sleek and silky playfulness persisting throughout.
Spirit Is Broken is a pep talk the artist is giving herself in the mirror. Only Amery could write something so joyous and harmonically glorious while singing about low ebbs. Every line shines with humour, the chorus starting with an exasperated “oh my god, alright” and the refrain nailing the bittersweet feeling of enjoying feeling down. It’s a mood continued on slow groover Ennui, a melter striking out at being stuck; same parties, same faces, daring to dream beyond.
As an illustrator and visual artist, Sandford’s images detail dancing instrument-clad animals, party scenes that nod to historical image making heavy hitters like Hieronymus Bosch and Ludwig Bemelmans. On Miracles, Amery deals in bold pop production and her yearning to escape into fantasy, given wings by Korgs and drum machines. On Rocker Blues, originally by French artist FR David, Amery brings the heavy with synth-guitar and an undeniable chorus. C9 is in some ways the album’s centrepiece, a mid tempo funk jam and duet with Montreal stalwart Fireball Kid, it’s the party just out of reach on the horizon.
The thing about Cloud 9 is that on the comedown you might get a hella lot of rain. The world Amery builds is intoxicating, rich and most importantly open for anyone to fall into. To be continued… More
1. Mountain FM
2. Hotwire The Nite
3. Spirit Is Broken
4. Ennui
5. Miracles
6. Rocker Blues
7. C9 (with Fireball Kid)
8. Continue As Amery
Continue As Amery is the debut album by Montreal-based artist Amery. Formerly recording under the moniker Alpen Glow, Continue As Amery sees the songwriter step out into a bold, colourful world full of pop hooks, snagging feelings of abandon and the mornings after.
Amery Sandford began releasing as Alpen Glow in 2020 after years playing in punk groups in Newfoundland and as half of Montreal pop duo Born At Midnite (Arbutus). Recorded in Montreal by David Carriere (TOPS, Marci), Patrick Holland, and Kristian North, Continue As Amery is a blast of melodic joie de vivre. On her debut Sandford brings her punk and DIY credentials into sharp focus on 8 perfect pop odes to city living, making mistakes and figuring it out as you go along. Suffuse with powerful imagery and an almost uncanny talent at spinning out hooks brimming with humour and spirit, Amery’s soundworld is informed by friendship, experience and by her day job as a renowned illustrator and visual artist. Beginning Alpen Glow in a spirit of fun and now shedding the alias, Amery’s ready to hotwire the nite.
Each song is rich with story. Mountain FM, named for the radio station in Sandford’s home town in the mountains of Alberta, launches into a tale of speeding, blasting the radio too loud, the giddy burning of rubber with no care in the world to slow you down. Featuring live band members Sarah Harris, Jack Bielli, and Frank Climenhage, the singer bristles to get out of her stifling hometown while lamenting the wide eyed adventurer who left for the big city. On Hotwire The Nite, Amery is out on the town, with imagery loaded with the night’s promise. Amery sings “Black candle / Dripping intel / Dagger hanging by an emerald handle / Holy roller that I just can’t have without my hand on an old flame,” diving in and out of fantasy and desire over a pulsating banger. Moments like these feel like a thesis on aural pleasure, with the production sleek and silky playfulness persisting throughout.
Spirit Is Broken is a pep talk the artist is giving herself in the mirror. Only Amery could write something so joyous and harmonically glorious while singing about low ebbs. Every line shines with humour, the chorus starting with an exasperated “oh my god, alright” and the refrain nailing the bittersweet feeling of enjoying feeling down. It’s a mood continued on slow groover Ennui, a melter striking out at being stuck; same parties, same faces, daring to dream beyond.
As an illustrator and visual artist, Sandford’s images detail dancing instrument-clad animals, party scenes that nod to historical image making heavy hitters like Hieronymus Bosch and Ludwig Bemelmans. On Miracles, Amery deals in bold pop production and her yearning to escape into fantasy, given wings by Korgs and drum machines. On Rocker Blues, originally by French artist FR David, Amery brings the heavy with synth-guitar and an undeniable chorus. C9 is in some ways the album’s centrepiece, a mid tempo funk jam and duet with Montreal stalwart Fireball Kid, it’s the party just out of reach on the horizon.
The thing about Cloud 9 is that on the comedown you might get a hella lot of rain. The world Amery builds is intoxicating, rich and most importantly open for anyone to fall into. To be continued… More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Summer Cats
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Perfect Past
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Punks In Paradise
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Plaza Italia
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Blue Dollar
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Maximo Says
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Bar Roma
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. Malaysian Airlines
LP - Black Vinyl
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Summer Cats
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Perfect Past
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Punks In Paradise
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Plaza Italia
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Blue Dollar
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Maximo Says
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Bar Roma
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. Malaysian Airlines
LP - Limited White VInyl Version
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
Territory: WW-US-UK-FR-BNLX
Solo Paraiso will be available on vinyl for the first time in 10 years and Digitally for the first time.
Solo Paraiso is Molly Nilsson’s mini-album from 2014 recorded during a 6 month residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For it’s 10th Anniversary, Night School and Dark Skies Association is making the most sought after long player in Molly
Nilsson’s catalogue available again on a new format with new artwork designed by Molly Nilsson and Jonas Raam.
Pop music rarely comes as honest and heartfelt as when delivered by Molly Nilsson. Having traveled around the world singing
to the romantic and the doomed, Nilsson found herself in the Summer of 2014 in Buenos Aires. Inspired by the crumbling urban
landscape and the heavy hearts that populate it, Sólo Paraíso is not only an ode to a specific time and space but a musical
novella that meditates on youth, idealism and belonging. The soundtrack to a summer you thought you had when looking over
bleached out old photo albums.
Sólo Paraíso has the feel of a bridge between the more lo fi, first phase of Nilsson’s career and the expanded sonic scope she
has employed in the last decade. Recorded quickly, with instinct and feeling of paramount importance over rectitude or
perfection, amongst the eight tracks of this mini LP are some of the biggest fan favourites of her career. As with all Molly
Nilsson songs, each of these tracks is bursting with perfect moments. Opener Summer Cats sails over sun-kissed piano
chords, chasing the sun eternally as it dips over the horizon, while show-stealer Blue Dollar draws parallels between the
doomed Argentine economy and the failure of a love affair. It’s the most feel-good, romantic peon to an economic downturn
you’ll ever hear. As Molly says “why is it so damn easy to break all the things that are so damn difficult to make?”
Using cracked synths, shimmering piano, heat-stroked drum machines and above all her direct, from-the-heart vocal delivery,
Nilsson’s songs have never been so precise and on-point. For fellow doomed romantics, Sólo Paraíso is the perfect sound for
an imperfect Summer.
Tracklist:
1. Summer Cats
2. Perfect Past
3. Punks In Paradise
4. Plaza Italia
5. Blue Dollar
6. Maximo Says
7. Bar Roma
8. Malaysian Airlines More
1
Yuching Huang - 1. Fly! Little Black Thing
2
Yuching Huang - 2. Love
3
Yuching Huang - 3. Confessions From A Soul
4
Yuching Huang - 4. Thoughts
5
Yuching Huang - 5. Thunder In Heaven
6
Yuching Huang - 6. In My Room
7
Yuching Huang - 7. The Song Of Summer
8
Yuching Huang - 8. JohnJohn
9
Yuching Huang - 9. Alright
10
Yuching Huang - 10. You, An Illusion
LP - The Crystal Hum is the debut vinyl release by Taiwan-based artist Yuching Huang and her first release for Night School.
1. Fly! Little Black Thing
2. Love
3. Confessions From A Soul
4. Thoughts
5. Thunder In Heaven
6. In My Room
7. The Song Of Summer
8. JohnJohn
9. Alright
10. You, An Illusion
The Crystal Hum is the debut vinyl release by Taiwan-based artist Yuching Huang and her first release for Night School.
A beguiling dreamscape of crackles, spluttering, love-struck Casios presided over by the the spectral vocal and guitar
work of Huang, Yuching sings love songs at the end of this world and the beginning of the next. Recorded during a
hiatus from her group Aemong (a duo with artist Henrique Uba) in Berlin, these songs elevate Huang’s unique vocal
style and grasp of atmospherics. The Crystal Hum deconstructs balladry, Garage, guitar music and reforms it into a
unified ghostly otherworld version of these languages.
The Crystal Hum thrums with buried desire, trails of nocturnal reverb seeping out of apartment windows, diaristic vocal
performances and deeply emotive, evocative Western-style strings. Formulated by Yuching Huang after periods of frustration
and experimentation, the album is an exercise in minimalism and paring back, with some tracks like JohnJohn featuring little
else than an elastic bass, spring reverb trails, an interjecting vocal and swelling, dislocated synths. The effect is spellbinding,
the soundtrack to getting lost in the labyrinthine, closed streets of Venice, Taipei, Hong Kong, or mirror versions of them in the
imagination.
On opener Fly! Little Black Thing, a subterranean funk bassline roots Huang’s singing, a rudimentary, unreliable beat
floundering in whimsy underneath. Demure, dream Dance music, Huang references classic lo fi experimenters Suicide and
Arthur Russell as well as Night School label mates The Space Lady and Ela Orleans. In fact, after the release of Aemong’s
third album Crimson, Huang credits the direction of The Crystal Hum to being enchanted by The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits,
the landmark lo-fi recording made by Susan Dietrich Schneider in 1990. The new, minimalist approach to her sound world
reveals and shrouds in equal measure. On the heart-melter Love, a sultry mid-tempo Casio + bass backing drops into the ether
with Huang’s vocal swimming in preternatural void before emerging anew, in awe at the world. Every chord change heralds new
perspectives, every guitar flurry swells and drips emotion, nothing is wasted and space billows out from between the grooves.
Huang never reveals more than necessary, making this an in-between love album: the right amount of mystery and darkened
mirror shines wanely on The Crystal Hum while remaining fragile and vulnerable in the sweet spots. Turning over in pillowing
smoke and night in the dark corners, Huang sings in both Mandarin and English. The songs speak of earthly matters seemingly
at the edge of dissipating into nothing. Distorted, beguiling Sambas warble like sweating dancehalls in an imagined Lynchian
60s, as on Thoughts. Closer You, An Illusion warps a classic 60s Girlgroup bassline beloved of the likes of Les Rallizes
Denudes into a slight ballad on the edge of the void, held back by the teary-eyed, wistful and enveloping vocal cooed by
Huang. Each song feels like a love song dedicated to the bits between worlds, between beats, the negative space between
people where desires, feelings and loss hangs in the air, resolute and unresolved. More
1. Fly! Little Black Thing
2. Love
3. Confessions From A Soul
4. Thoughts
5. Thunder In Heaven
6. In My Room
7. The Song Of Summer
8. JohnJohn
9. Alright
10. You, An Illusion
The Crystal Hum is the debut vinyl release by Taiwan-based artist Yuching Huang and her first release for Night School.
A beguiling dreamscape of crackles, spluttering, love-struck Casios presided over by the the spectral vocal and guitar
work of Huang, Yuching sings love songs at the end of this world and the beginning of the next. Recorded during a
hiatus from her group Aemong (a duo with artist Henrique Uba) in Berlin, these songs elevate Huang’s unique vocal
style and grasp of atmospherics. The Crystal Hum deconstructs balladry, Garage, guitar music and reforms it into a
unified ghostly otherworld version of these languages.
The Crystal Hum thrums with buried desire, trails of nocturnal reverb seeping out of apartment windows, diaristic vocal
performances and deeply emotive, evocative Western-style strings. Formulated by Yuching Huang after periods of frustration
and experimentation, the album is an exercise in minimalism and paring back, with some tracks like JohnJohn featuring little
else than an elastic bass, spring reverb trails, an interjecting vocal and swelling, dislocated synths. The effect is spellbinding,
the soundtrack to getting lost in the labyrinthine, closed streets of Venice, Taipei, Hong Kong, or mirror versions of them in the
imagination.
On opener Fly! Little Black Thing, a subterranean funk bassline roots Huang’s singing, a rudimentary, unreliable beat
floundering in whimsy underneath. Demure, dream Dance music, Huang references classic lo fi experimenters Suicide and
Arthur Russell as well as Night School label mates The Space Lady and Ela Orleans. In fact, after the release of Aemong’s
third album Crimson, Huang credits the direction of The Crystal Hum to being enchanted by The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits,
the landmark lo-fi recording made by Susan Dietrich Schneider in 1990. The new, minimalist approach to her sound world
reveals and shrouds in equal measure. On the heart-melter Love, a sultry mid-tempo Casio + bass backing drops into the ether
with Huang’s vocal swimming in preternatural void before emerging anew, in awe at the world. Every chord change heralds new
perspectives, every guitar flurry swells and drips emotion, nothing is wasted and space billows out from between the grooves.
Huang never reveals more than necessary, making this an in-between love album: the right amount of mystery and darkened
mirror shines wanely on The Crystal Hum while remaining fragile and vulnerable in the sweet spots. Turning over in pillowing
smoke and night in the dark corners, Huang sings in both Mandarin and English. The songs speak of earthly matters seemingly
at the edge of dissipating into nothing. Distorted, beguiling Sambas warble like sweating dancehalls in an imagined Lynchian
60s, as on Thoughts. Closer You, An Illusion warps a classic 60s Girlgroup bassline beloved of the likes of Les Rallizes
Denudes into a slight ballad on the edge of the void, held back by the teary-eyed, wistful and enveloping vocal cooed by
Huang. Each song feels like a love song dedicated to the bits between worlds, between beats, the negative space between
people where desires, feelings and loss hangs in the air, resolute and unresolved. More
1
The Space Lady - All Shook Up
2
The Space Lady - Slapback Boomerang
3
The Space Lady - Puttin’ On The Ritz
4
The Space Lady - Radar Love
5
The Space Lady - 20th Century Fox
6
The Space Lady - Shakin’ All Over
Mini LP, LTD 500 , Clear Vinyl - RSD 2024, No sales to UK,USA,FR, Benelux
1. All Shook Up
2. Slapback Boomerang
3. Puttin’ On The Ritz
4. Radar Love
5. 20th Century Fox
6. Shakin’ All Over
Since her re-discovery in 2013 via cult favourite The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits, The Space Lady’s mission of galactic
peace and celestial harmony has grown into a world-wide underground phenomenon. Recorded in 1990, The Space
Lady’s original repertoire is a parallel universe greatest hits: songs familiar are transmogrified into shimmering bliss
while new compositions amplify the message. The Space Lady’s Other Hits, released on April 20th for Record Store Day
2024, constitutes the songs recorded by Susan “The Space Lady” Dietrich Schneider as part of that repertoire that
never made the original Greatest Hits, save for a limited bonus CD on the first CD pressing. Remastered by Mikey Love
for vinyl, The Space Lady’s Other Hits completes the picture.
The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of Boston in the late 70s, then San Francisco ten years later, playing
versions of contemporary pop music with an accordion and dressed flamboyantly. Following the theft and destruction of her
accordion , The Space Lady invested in a then-new Casio keyboard, complete with a phase shifter, delay pedal and headset
mic, birthing an otherworldly new dimension to popular song that has captured the imaginations of the underground and its
leading exponents ever since.
The Space Lady’s Other Hits were recorded as they were played on the street, live, one-take, with Schneider playing, singing
and simultaneously manipulating the various effects. Beginning with Elvis Presley’s iconic All Shook Up, the walking bassline
underpinning the vocal, phasing in and out of this dimension, providing a fragile, extraterrestrial shadow to Presley’s original
lust-driven performance. Slapback Boomerang is an original composition, written by Schneider’s then-husband Joel Dunsany
a Rock ’n’ Roll pounder that could have been performed by The Cramps, its tale of relationship turmoil changed into a
meditation on the nature of echo and feedback. There are moments where Schneider performs vocal caesuras, swimming in
delay and phase for the pleasure of it, a pantomime drama performance that rings out. Closing Side B, Puttin’ On The Ritz is
Irving Berlin’s 20s smash hit manipulated into a sombre ballad with its latent class struggle narrative brought to the fore.
A staple of The Space Lady’s performances to this day, Golden Earring’s 70s global hit Radar Love retains something of the
original’s driving gallop but in The Space Lady’s telling it is shorn of the tight-trousered, taut machismo. The Space Lady coos
and reaches up into the heavens away from the road, the phaser waves drenching the composition with transcendence.
Schneider’s falsetto performances in the choruses do nothing but lift the spirits ever-arching upwards. Next, The Space Lady
emasculated Jim Morrison’s performance in The Doors’ 20th Century Fox. Faithfully playing Ray Manzarek’s keyboard parts on
her Casio, Schneider disintegrates Morrison’s lust into waves of echo and delay, creating a Dubbed out version of the song,
sounding eroded and decayed in all its ghostly glory. Pioneering Rock ’n’ Roll outfit Pete & The Pirates’ 1960 hot Shakin’ All
Over, something of a response to Elvis’ All Shook Up, is blown out in warm fuzz and the celestial hug of The Space Lady’s
spirit.
The Space Lady’s Other Hits is released on April 20th 2024 on clear vinyl 12”, limited to 500. More
1. All Shook Up
2. Slapback Boomerang
3. Puttin’ On The Ritz
4. Radar Love
5. 20th Century Fox
6. Shakin’ All Over
Since her re-discovery in 2013 via cult favourite The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits, The Space Lady’s mission of galactic
peace and celestial harmony has grown into a world-wide underground phenomenon. Recorded in 1990, The Space
Lady’s original repertoire is a parallel universe greatest hits: songs familiar are transmogrified into shimmering bliss
while new compositions amplify the message. The Space Lady’s Other Hits, released on April 20th for Record Store Day
2024, constitutes the songs recorded by Susan “The Space Lady” Dietrich Schneider as part of that repertoire that
never made the original Greatest Hits, save for a limited bonus CD on the first CD pressing. Remastered by Mikey Love
for vinyl, The Space Lady’s Other Hits completes the picture.
The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of Boston in the late 70s, then San Francisco ten years later, playing
versions of contemporary pop music with an accordion and dressed flamboyantly. Following the theft and destruction of her
accordion , The Space Lady invested in a then-new Casio keyboard, complete with a phase shifter, delay pedal and headset
mic, birthing an otherworldly new dimension to popular song that has captured the imaginations of the underground and its
leading exponents ever since.
The Space Lady’s Other Hits were recorded as they were played on the street, live, one-take, with Schneider playing, singing
and simultaneously manipulating the various effects. Beginning with Elvis Presley’s iconic All Shook Up, the walking bassline
underpinning the vocal, phasing in and out of this dimension, providing a fragile, extraterrestrial shadow to Presley’s original
lust-driven performance. Slapback Boomerang is an original composition, written by Schneider’s then-husband Joel Dunsany
a Rock ’n’ Roll pounder that could have been performed by The Cramps, its tale of relationship turmoil changed into a
meditation on the nature of echo and feedback. There are moments where Schneider performs vocal caesuras, swimming in
delay and phase for the pleasure of it, a pantomime drama performance that rings out. Closing Side B, Puttin’ On The Ritz is
Irving Berlin’s 20s smash hit manipulated into a sombre ballad with its latent class struggle narrative brought to the fore.
A staple of The Space Lady’s performances to this day, Golden Earring’s 70s global hit Radar Love retains something of the
original’s driving gallop but in The Space Lady’s telling it is shorn of the tight-trousered, taut machismo. The Space Lady coos
and reaches up into the heavens away from the road, the phaser waves drenching the composition with transcendence.
Schneider’s falsetto performances in the choruses do nothing but lift the spirits ever-arching upwards. Next, The Space Lady
emasculated Jim Morrison’s performance in The Doors’ 20th Century Fox. Faithfully playing Ray Manzarek’s keyboard parts on
her Casio, Schneider disintegrates Morrison’s lust into waves of echo and delay, creating a Dubbed out version of the song,
sounding eroded and decayed in all its ghostly glory. Pioneering Rock ’n’ Roll outfit Pete & The Pirates’ 1960 hot Shakin’ All
Over, something of a response to Elvis’ All Shook Up, is blown out in warm fuzz and the celestial hug of The Space Lady’s
spirit.
The Space Lady’s Other Hits is released on April 20th 2024 on clear vinyl 12”, limited to 500. More
1
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Hotel Suite
2
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Full Stops
3
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Sensory
4
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Wrong Planet
5
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Electrix Blue
6
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Precious Boy
7
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Apocalypse
8
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - YouTube Trip
9
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Slinky
10
J.McFarlane's Reality Guest - Caviar
LP, LTD 300 , Restrictions: UK,USA, AUS/NZ
1. Hotel Suite
2. Full Stops
3. Sensory
4. Wrong Planet
5. Electrix Blue
6. Precious Boy
7. Apocalypse
8. YouTube Trip
9. Slinky
10.Caviar
From out of nowhere - if nowhere is the febrile, warped and twilit imagination of Julia McFarlane - comes Whoopee, the second album by J.McFarlane’s Reality Guest. Whoopee is an esoteric, kaleidoscopic movie in music form directed by Julia McFarlane and co-conspirator Thomas Kernot. Full of life, breakbeats and smokey vignettes on the fragile nature of interpersonal relationships, Whoopee is a stylistic evolution from everything McFarlane has done before. Surreal, beautiful in parts and replete with the aching wisdom McFarlane’s songwriting has always promised, this Reality Guest pulls back the curtain on a whole scene of naked truth.
Recorded in Melbourne in bursts since the release of 2019’s Ta Da, Whoopee features a new sound palette and band member
in Kernot. The duo dive deep into electronic pop tropes, mining digital synths, samples, breakbeats and deep bass grooves,
largely dispensing with live instrumentation. If Ta Da took twists and turns with your expectations, offering a Dada-ist,
monochromatic take on pop music, Whoopee is McFarlane’s subterranean love-sick pinks, reds, greens, purples and blues.
Becoming something of a tradition, the album starts with an instrumental intro pilfered from a 90s’ spy film or cinema intro
music, puffing up the listener for the heart-squeezing bathos of Full Stops. Over a bleary backdrop of walking bass lines, jazzinflected keys and smoked-out atmosphere, McFarlane’s poetry narrates the fragile state of a relationship: “You put a full stop
where I thought there’d be a comma, I want the story to continue even with all the drama.” Over a palpable pain, the narrator is
revelling in the drama of a relationship, addicted to tumult and heightened emotion. On Sensory, a space age bachelor lounge
pad ballad, the converse state of the previous song is explored, here the narrator is battling the numbness of being out of the
drama, stuck in a sensory-deprivation tank, anaesthesized and battling to emerge from the fog. Wrong Planet explores an
otherworldly pop music, hewing a bright hook out of a sense of confusion. A bona-fide, sing-along chorus bursts out of the
narrator musing on the absurdity of existing in this reality. It speaks of one of Julia McFarlane’s main talents, her knack of
inspecting human relationships and states with a clear perspective, like an alien visiting Earth and realising everything we are is
really, really strange.
Whoopee is both more accessible than previous Reality Guest work and somehow more obfuscated. Where the production on
Ta Da was dry, sharp and strange, this Reality Guest is blurred, almost smeared with the effluvium of 90s+00s culture and
existence. Through it all, it’s hard to deny the undeniable pull of the songs. Precious Boy carries on the lounge theme with a
whole sampler of cut up sounds fading in and out of the haze as McFarlane’s voice is right up to the speaker cooing and freeassociating, maybe in love or maybe in confusion… maybe they’re the same thing? Sometimes the listener is invited to just
bathe in the tone of the vocal, as on Apocalypse, where the texture and timbre of the vocal is luxurious, bathing in piano tinkles
and double bass throb. On lead single Slinky, a cut up beat reminiscent of Washingtonian Go-Go drum patterns leads, the
song slipping through your fingers, elusive and presenting sound as pure pleasure. Closer Caviar jumps back into the broken
breakbeats of a surreal funk, fuelled by the sensory pleasure of the music, a hedonistic whirl in rapture, the narrator now living
life to the fullest in all its giddy heights and deep troughs. This is the album’s main character fully-actualised and in the terrible,
beautiful moment. You don’t emerge from this cinema with any new knowledge, but you see the world how it really is. Until the
next time.
More
1. Hotel Suite
2. Full Stops
3. Sensory
4. Wrong Planet
5. Electrix Blue
6. Precious Boy
7. Apocalypse
8. YouTube Trip
9. Slinky
10.Caviar
From out of nowhere - if nowhere is the febrile, warped and twilit imagination of Julia McFarlane - comes Whoopee, the second album by J.McFarlane’s Reality Guest. Whoopee is an esoteric, kaleidoscopic movie in music form directed by Julia McFarlane and co-conspirator Thomas Kernot. Full of life, breakbeats and smokey vignettes on the fragile nature of interpersonal relationships, Whoopee is a stylistic evolution from everything McFarlane has done before. Surreal, beautiful in parts and replete with the aching wisdom McFarlane’s songwriting has always promised, this Reality Guest pulls back the curtain on a whole scene of naked truth.
Recorded in Melbourne in bursts since the release of 2019’s Ta Da, Whoopee features a new sound palette and band member
in Kernot. The duo dive deep into electronic pop tropes, mining digital synths, samples, breakbeats and deep bass grooves,
largely dispensing with live instrumentation. If Ta Da took twists and turns with your expectations, offering a Dada-ist,
monochromatic take on pop music, Whoopee is McFarlane’s subterranean love-sick pinks, reds, greens, purples and blues.
Becoming something of a tradition, the album starts with an instrumental intro pilfered from a 90s’ spy film or cinema intro
music, puffing up the listener for the heart-squeezing bathos of Full Stops. Over a bleary backdrop of walking bass lines, jazzinflected keys and smoked-out atmosphere, McFarlane’s poetry narrates the fragile state of a relationship: “You put a full stop
where I thought there’d be a comma, I want the story to continue even with all the drama.” Over a palpable pain, the narrator is
revelling in the drama of a relationship, addicted to tumult and heightened emotion. On Sensory, a space age bachelor lounge
pad ballad, the converse state of the previous song is explored, here the narrator is battling the numbness of being out of the
drama, stuck in a sensory-deprivation tank, anaesthesized and battling to emerge from the fog. Wrong Planet explores an
otherworldly pop music, hewing a bright hook out of a sense of confusion. A bona-fide, sing-along chorus bursts out of the
narrator musing on the absurdity of existing in this reality. It speaks of one of Julia McFarlane’s main talents, her knack of
inspecting human relationships and states with a clear perspective, like an alien visiting Earth and realising everything we are is
really, really strange.
Whoopee is both more accessible than previous Reality Guest work and somehow more obfuscated. Where the production on
Ta Da was dry, sharp and strange, this Reality Guest is blurred, almost smeared with the effluvium of 90s+00s culture and
existence. Through it all, it’s hard to deny the undeniable pull of the songs. Precious Boy carries on the lounge theme with a
whole sampler of cut up sounds fading in and out of the haze as McFarlane’s voice is right up to the speaker cooing and freeassociating, maybe in love or maybe in confusion… maybe they’re the same thing? Sometimes the listener is invited to just
bathe in the tone of the vocal, as on Apocalypse, where the texture and timbre of the vocal is luxurious, bathing in piano tinkles
and double bass throb. On lead single Slinky, a cut up beat reminiscent of Washingtonian Go-Go drum patterns leads, the
song slipping through your fingers, elusive and presenting sound as pure pleasure. Closer Caviar jumps back into the broken
breakbeats of a surreal funk, fuelled by the sensory pleasure of the music, a hedonistic whirl in rapture, the narrator now living
life to the fullest in all its giddy heights and deep troughs. This is the album’s main character fully-actualised and in the terrible,
beautiful moment. You don’t emerge from this cinema with any new knowledge, but you see the world how it really is. Until the
next time.
More
1
Teresa Winter - 1. Circles
2
Teresa Winter - 2. Plume
3
Teresa Winter - 3. Flower of the Mountain
4
Teresa Winter - 4. Blood Moon Myrtle
5
Teresa Winter - 5. Like an Apple
6
Teresa Winter - 6. Fireworks
7
Teresa Winter - 7. Child of Nature
8
Teresa Winter - 8. Lamento
9
Teresa Winter - 9. New Water
LP LTD 400
1. Circles
2. Plume
3. Flower of the Mountain
4. Blood Moon Myrtle
5. Like an Apple
6. Fireworks
7. Child of Nature
8. Lamento
9. New Water
Circular patterns morphing through time, loop and ritual form the fabric of Proserpine, the latest work by Leeds-based musician, Teresa Winter. Recorded from a summer to a winter through 2021 and 2022, Proserpine is Winter's most cohesive, focused music to date: confidently revelling in space, fixating on isolated sounds and giving way to satisfying, swirling waves of vocal and electronic buzz. Proserpine is Teresa Winter's debut recording for Glasgow-based label, Night School.
On Proserpine, musical patterns revolve and intersect with each other, transmogrifying the music's narrative. Over-arching themes emerge: continual change, elusiveness. Insubstantiality emerges into concrete reality in the form of recognisable field recordings: the purring of a pet cat, the hum of a live cable. The loops and patterns are sometimes just out of sight, the click and whirl on Child Of Nature is the backdrop to hymnal vocalisations by Winter, who intones spell-like text in conversation with herself. On opener Circles, Winter's vocal is pre-linguistic, detached syllables falling into flowing streams, before Plume's field recordings seem to juxtapose nocturnal and diurnal wildlife. "You said I was a Flower Of The Mountain" sings Winter, as James Joyce's Molly Bloom does but the carpe diem desire in Ulysses is dissipated here, spread out by gauzy, droning organs. Here desire is blown up and out, changed into something undefinable but no less powerful.
Change is at the heart of the album. The Roman goddess Proserpine, herself a reimagined version of the earlier Greek goddess Persephone, is always between: between summer and winter, the land of the living and the underworld, constantly emerging into new states of being. It's a fitting metaphor for Winter's work. Like an Apple feels like it soundtracks this in-between state, long, trailing reverb smudging synth keys and Winter's achingly beautiful vocal performance. The effect is stirring but flitting in and out of perception, sometimes Winter's presence feels of this world, of musical instruments and practises and at others it feels like the music is about to phase into a different plane, a different universe.
While Proserpine references the myths and cults of the classical, pre-Christian era, Winter's restless preoccupation with the mechanics of religion informs the album in other ways. Ritual is present through out, either in the mantra-like vocalisations or even the private rituals we are invited to witness: on Fireworks the listener eave drops into the protagonist's private bonfire. On the stunning Lamento, layers of Choral vocal interlock in celestial patterns that recall catholic mass: it's an overt effect that simulates the ecstasy of religious fervour and also reminds the listener of the use of vocal that runs through Proserpine. Winter's vocals often echo with the euphoria of obliteration, of disintegrating in an awful bliss. It's an effect achieved with finality by the closer New Water as the piece begins with voice before burning up in the atmosphere of elegiac violins and enveloping undertows of whirring synth patterns and ghostly pads. Proserpine is forever turning, changing, always elusive and quietly revelatory.
More
1. Circles
2. Plume
3. Flower of the Mountain
4. Blood Moon Myrtle
5. Like an Apple
6. Fireworks
7. Child of Nature
8. Lamento
9. New Water
Circular patterns morphing through time, loop and ritual form the fabric of Proserpine, the latest work by Leeds-based musician, Teresa Winter. Recorded from a summer to a winter through 2021 and 2022, Proserpine is Winter's most cohesive, focused music to date: confidently revelling in space, fixating on isolated sounds and giving way to satisfying, swirling waves of vocal and electronic buzz. Proserpine is Teresa Winter's debut recording for Glasgow-based label, Night School.
On Proserpine, musical patterns revolve and intersect with each other, transmogrifying the music's narrative. Over-arching themes emerge: continual change, elusiveness. Insubstantiality emerges into concrete reality in the form of recognisable field recordings: the purring of a pet cat, the hum of a live cable. The loops and patterns are sometimes just out of sight, the click and whirl on Child Of Nature is the backdrop to hymnal vocalisations by Winter, who intones spell-like text in conversation with herself. On opener Circles, Winter's vocal is pre-linguistic, detached syllables falling into flowing streams, before Plume's field recordings seem to juxtapose nocturnal and diurnal wildlife. "You said I was a Flower Of The Mountain" sings Winter, as James Joyce's Molly Bloom does but the carpe diem desire in Ulysses is dissipated here, spread out by gauzy, droning organs. Here desire is blown up and out, changed into something undefinable but no less powerful.
Change is at the heart of the album. The Roman goddess Proserpine, herself a reimagined version of the earlier Greek goddess Persephone, is always between: between summer and winter, the land of the living and the underworld, constantly emerging into new states of being. It's a fitting metaphor for Winter's work. Like an Apple feels like it soundtracks this in-between state, long, trailing reverb smudging synth keys and Winter's achingly beautiful vocal performance. The effect is stirring but flitting in and out of perception, sometimes Winter's presence feels of this world, of musical instruments and practises and at others it feels like the music is about to phase into a different plane, a different universe.
While Proserpine references the myths and cults of the classical, pre-Christian era, Winter's restless preoccupation with the mechanics of religion informs the album in other ways. Ritual is present through out, either in the mantra-like vocalisations or even the private rituals we are invited to witness: on Fireworks the listener eave drops into the protagonist's private bonfire. On the stunning Lamento, layers of Choral vocal interlock in celestial patterns that recall catholic mass: it's an overt effect that simulates the ecstasy of religious fervour and also reminds the listener of the use of vocal that runs through Proserpine. Winter's vocals often echo with the euphoria of obliteration, of disintegrating in an awful bliss. It's an effect achieved with finality by the closer New Water as the piece begins with voice before burning up in the atmosphere of elegiac violins and enveloping undertows of whirring synth patterns and ghostly pads. Proserpine is forever turning, changing, always elusive and quietly revelatory.
More
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Deena Abdelwahed - The Key To The Exit - 06:36
2
Deena Abdelwahed - Each day - 05:40
3
Deena Abdelwahed - Six as oil - 06:05
4
Deena Abdelwahed - Complain - 05:03
5
Deena Abdelwahed - Violence for free - 06:15
6
Deena Abdelwahed - Naive - 08:40
7
Deena Abdelwahed - Pre Island - 06:13
Territories: WORLD EXCL FRANCE
Tracklist LP:
A1_The Key To The Exit - 06:36
A2_Each day - 05:40
A3_Six as oil - 06:05
A4_Complain - 05:03
B1_Violence for free - 06:15
B2_Naive - 08:40
B3_Pre Island - 06:13
Short Info:
Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed’s upcoming album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision.
Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, The Key to the Exit, a deconstructed sha’bi production. With tracks like Six as Oil and the delightfully intense Violence for Free, Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed’s vocals on Complain and Pre-Island are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said “[Khonnar is] an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political.” With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.
More
Tracklist LP:
A1_The Key To The Exit - 06:36
A2_Each day - 05:40
A3_Six as oil - 06:05
A4_Complain - 05:03
B1_Violence for free - 06:15
B2_Naive - 08:40
B3_Pre Island - 06:13
Short Info:
Building off of the themes of identity, storytelling and experimentation on her critically acclaimed debut album, Khonnar (2018), Deena Abdelwahed’s upcoming album Jbal Rrsas is the next chapter of a reimagining of what club music could be. The album spans seven tracks of bass, techno, and experimental music, with Abdelwahed consulting with masterminds like Tunisian composer and multi-instrumentalist Khalil Hentati, aka Khalil Epi, and Iraqi-British multi-instrumentalist, composer, and researcher Khyam Allami, as well as Egyptian mastering engineer Heba Kadry, to help realise her vision.
Jbal Rrsas starts with the seductively apocalyptic opener, The Key to the Exit, a deconstructed sha’bi production. With tracks like Six as Oil and the delightfully intense Violence for Free, Abdelwahed leads users to a desert rave, where industrial rhythms are left unbridled. Abdelwahed’s vocals on Complain and Pre-Island are powerful and exposed, confidently placed on dizzying avant-garde productions. The Wire previously said “[Khonnar is] an assured debut that sits on the edge of a whole swathe of possibilities, not only sonic but also geographical, social and political.” With Jbal Rrsas finds Abdelwahed deftly navigating through those possibilities, frequently pushing against genres, labels, and social identifiers, while elevating club music to otherworldly heights.
More
1
Grauzone - A1. Film 2
2
Grauzone - A2. Schlachtet!
3
Grauzone - A3. Hinter Den Bergen
4
Grauzone - A4. Maikäfer Flieg
5
Grauzone - A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
6
Grauzone - B1. Wütendes Glas
7
Grauzone - B2. Kälte Kriecht
8
Grauzone - B3. Kunstgewerbe
9
Grauzone - B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
10
Grauzone - B5. In Der Nacht
11
Grauzone - C1. Eisbär
12
Grauzone - C2. Ich Lieb Sie
13
Grauzone - C3. Moskau
14
Grauzone - C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
15
Grauzone - D1. Träume Mit Mir
16
Grauzone - D2. Ich Und Du
17
Grauzone - D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
18
Grauzone - D4. Raum
19
Grauzone - D5. Film 1
Double LP: Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Liner Notes, Sticker
- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
More
- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
More
1
Deena Abdelwahed - 01- Saratan - 03:42
2
Deena Abdelwahed - 02- Ababab - 05:40
3
Deena Abdelwahed - 03- Tawa - 03:53
4
Deena Abdelwahed - 04- Fdhiha - 05:51
5
Deena Abdelwahed - 05- Ken Skett… - 05:12
6
Deena Abdelwahed - 06- Al Hobb Al Mouharreb - 05:37
7
Deena Abdelwahed - 07- 5/5 - 04:40
8
Deena Abdelwahed - 08- A Scream In The Consciousness - 07:01
9
Deena Abdelwahed - 09- Rabbouni - 02:45
2023 Re Issue
Territories : World excl. FR
TRACKLISTING LP
01- Saratan - 03:42
02- Ababab - 05:40
03- Tawa - 03:53
04- Fdhiha - 05:51
05- Ken Skett… - 05:12
06- Al Hobb Al Mouharreb - 05:37
07- 5/5 - 04:40
08- A Scream In The Consciousness - 07:01
09- Rabbouni - 02:45
Deena Abdelwahed's first album is shifting the epicenter of contemporary electronic music south: "Khonnar" will be released on November 16, 2018 by InFiné.
Pronounced "Ronnar" (an essential detail so as to avoid facile misinterpretation by French-speakers) it is a term that makes the most of Tunisia's cultural and linguistic spectrum. It evokes the dark, shameful and disturbing side of things, the one we usually seek to hide, but which Deena instead sticks our noses in with her debut. It is a testament to Deena's coming into her own as a world citizen, and as an artist. A self-construction made of frustrations and constraints, borne of retrograde mindsets, which are not the prerogative of either the East or the West, and which she tirelessly strives to expose and break.
Throughout the 45 minutes of "Khonnar", Deena breaks down the codes of bass, techno and experimental music, and writes the manifesto for a generation that does not seek to please or to conform, taking back control of its identity - with all the attendant losses and chaos. A new creative world order is taking shape, a new tilting point between north and south, the response of a connected and liberated youth who takes the control of the new decolonization.
About Deena Abdelwahed
A Tunisian producer and DJ, Deena Abdelwahed arrived in France at the age of 26 after earning her stripes on the Tunis scene and as part of the Arabstazy collective. Her hybridized DJ sets, on the outer reaches of sub-cultures, and especially the one she performed at Sonar 2017 (one of the edition's Top 10 according to the New York Times), propelled the young artist into the clubbing universe's most demanding spheres (Boiler Room, Concrete, Room for Resistance, Säule/Berghain…). As a producer, she was the creator of an acclaimed performance at the CTM Berlin Festival ("All Hail Mother Internet"). Her first EP "Klabb", released in early 2017 on InFiné, was met with critical acclaim from the blogosphere and electronic media. That same year, she collaborated on the tracks "Plunge" and "An Itch" from Fever Ray's second album.
Mask and photography by London based artist Judas Companion, whose work is about transformation of human identity. She makes masks and masked portraits to create different layers of the human being.
More
Territories : World excl. FR
TRACKLISTING LP
01- Saratan - 03:42
02- Ababab - 05:40
03- Tawa - 03:53
04- Fdhiha - 05:51
05- Ken Skett… - 05:12
06- Al Hobb Al Mouharreb - 05:37
07- 5/5 - 04:40
08- A Scream In The Consciousness - 07:01
09- Rabbouni - 02:45
Deena Abdelwahed's first album is shifting the epicenter of contemporary electronic music south: "Khonnar" will be released on November 16, 2018 by InFiné.
Pronounced "Ronnar" (an essential detail so as to avoid facile misinterpretation by French-speakers) it is a term that makes the most of Tunisia's cultural and linguistic spectrum. It evokes the dark, shameful and disturbing side of things, the one we usually seek to hide, but which Deena instead sticks our noses in with her debut. It is a testament to Deena's coming into her own as a world citizen, and as an artist. A self-construction made of frustrations and constraints, borne of retrograde mindsets, which are not the prerogative of either the East or the West, and which she tirelessly strives to expose and break.
Throughout the 45 minutes of "Khonnar", Deena breaks down the codes of bass, techno and experimental music, and writes the manifesto for a generation that does not seek to please or to conform, taking back control of its identity - with all the attendant losses and chaos. A new creative world order is taking shape, a new tilting point between north and south, the response of a connected and liberated youth who takes the control of the new decolonization.
About Deena Abdelwahed
A Tunisian producer and DJ, Deena Abdelwahed arrived in France at the age of 26 after earning her stripes on the Tunis scene and as part of the Arabstazy collective. Her hybridized DJ sets, on the outer reaches of sub-cultures, and especially the one she performed at Sonar 2017 (one of the edition's Top 10 according to the New York Times), propelled the young artist into the clubbing universe's most demanding spheres (Boiler Room, Concrete, Room for Resistance, Säule/Berghain…). As a producer, she was the creator of an acclaimed performance at the CTM Berlin Festival ("All Hail Mother Internet"). Her first EP "Klabb", released in early 2017 on InFiné, was met with critical acclaim from the blogosphere and electronic media. That same year, she collaborated on the tracks "Plunge" and "An Itch" from Fever Ray's second album.
Mask and photography by London based artist Judas Companion, whose work is about transformation of human identity. She makes masks and masked portraits to create different layers of the human being.
More
1
The Oscillation - 1. War On The Mind
2
The Oscillation - 2. Faraway
3
The Oscillation - 3. The Start Of The End
4
The Oscillation - 4. The Eternal
5
The Oscillation - 5. Body Electric
6
The Oscillation - 6. Mantra
7
The Oscillation - 7. Sovereign
LP (WW-FR-USA-UK-AU)
Tracklist: 1. War On The Mind / 2. Faraway / 3. The Start Of The End / 4. The Eternal / 5. Body Electric / 6. Mantra / 7. Sovereign
For fans of: Spectrum / Recurring Era Spacemen 3, Loop, AR Kane, MBV, bdrmm, Cocteau Twins, Telescopes and early 90s Creation records.
Following a series of meditative explorations in the form of the Singularity Zone series of releases, The Oscillation have returned with a new sense of vigour and purpose. Refreshed and re-energized, the result is The Start Of The End, an album that casts more light and shade than ever before to create a mood of hope and re-birth.
At once warm and welcoming, The Start Of The End is an album quite unlike anything that The Oscillation have ever released before. Fuelled by optimism and taking stock of what’s good about life and what needs to be jettisoned, the record is a result of spiritual and physical re-charging and cleansing.
Leaving the claustrophobic environs of the big city for a more bucolic backdrop, the change in location has left a profound mark on Demian Castellanos, the creative force behind The Oscillation. Where the exorcism of dark emotions of previous album Untold Futures left Castellanos wondering if he’d ever make music again, his new surroundings stirred something within him.
“When I made my new home, I allowed myself time to do nothing for a while,” says Castellanos, “and I then started some new songs without worrying about them being on an album. I just wrote with the mindset to put out something positive.”
He continues: “I did a lot of reflecting on the past and really wanted to change something in myself, but not knowing how and thinking that a lot of people must be feeling the same way.”
Recalling the creation of The Start Of The End, Castellanos says, “Writing and recording in an environment where I had little contact with people, no hanging out or partying or even having conversations was very interesting.”
The result is an album that’s recognisably the work of The Oscillation while pointing to a variety of new directions. Be it the celestial majesty of the title track, the melodic infusions that drive opening track ‘War On The Mind’ or the pulsing grooves underpinning ‘Faraway’ and ‘Body Electric’ or even hypnotic repetition at the heart of ‘Mantra’ and ‘The Eternal’, this music brimming with zeal and confidence. And to crown it all, closer ‘Sovereign’ is akin to communing with angels.
The Start Of The End is a line in the sand and one that points to a better tomorrow. More
Tracklist: 1. War On The Mind / 2. Faraway / 3. The Start Of The End / 4. The Eternal / 5. Body Electric / 6. Mantra / 7. Sovereign
For fans of: Spectrum / Recurring Era Spacemen 3, Loop, AR Kane, MBV, bdrmm, Cocteau Twins, Telescopes and early 90s Creation records.
Following a series of meditative explorations in the form of the Singularity Zone series of releases, The Oscillation have returned with a new sense of vigour and purpose. Refreshed and re-energized, the result is The Start Of The End, an album that casts more light and shade than ever before to create a mood of hope and re-birth.
At once warm and welcoming, The Start Of The End is an album quite unlike anything that The Oscillation have ever released before. Fuelled by optimism and taking stock of what’s good about life and what needs to be jettisoned, the record is a result of spiritual and physical re-charging and cleansing.
Leaving the claustrophobic environs of the big city for a more bucolic backdrop, the change in location has left a profound mark on Demian Castellanos, the creative force behind The Oscillation. Where the exorcism of dark emotions of previous album Untold Futures left Castellanos wondering if he’d ever make music again, his new surroundings stirred something within him.
“When I made my new home, I allowed myself time to do nothing for a while,” says Castellanos, “and I then started some new songs without worrying about them being on an album. I just wrote with the mindset to put out something positive.”
He continues: “I did a lot of reflecting on the past and really wanted to change something in myself, but not knowing how and thinking that a lot of people must be feeling the same way.”
Recalling the creation of The Start Of The End, Castellanos says, “Writing and recording in an environment where I had little contact with people, no hanging out or partying or even having conversations was very interesting.”
The result is an album that’s recognisably the work of The Oscillation while pointing to a variety of new directions. Be it the celestial majesty of the title track, the melodic infusions that drive opening track ‘War On The Mind’ or the pulsing grooves underpinning ‘Faraway’ and ‘Body Electric’ or even hypnotic repetition at the heart of ‘Mantra’ and ‘The Eternal’, this music brimming with zeal and confidence. And to crown it all, closer ‘Sovereign’ is akin to communing with angels.
The Start Of The End is a line in the sand and one that points to a better tomorrow. More
1
Molly Nilsson - No Title
2
Molly Nilsson - No Title
3
Molly Nilsson - No Title
4
Molly Nilsson - No Title
5
Molly Nilsson - No Title
6
Molly Nilsson - No Title
7
Molly Nilsson - No Title
8
Molly Nilsson - No Title
9
Molly Nilsson - No Title
10
Molly Nilsson - No Title
11
Molly Nilsson - No Title
Non Exclsuive LP
1. Absolute Power
2. Earth Girls
3. Fearless Like A Child
4. Kids Today
5. Intermezzo X – Wheel Of Fortune
6. Sweet Smell Of Success
7. Obnoxiously Talented
8. Avoid Heaven
9. Take Me To Your Leader
10. They Will Pay
11. Pompeii
“The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin
prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“
Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme
is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering
solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of
the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.
Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the
centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to
grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar
Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career.
“Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls
has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness
bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his
prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the
female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator
surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to
learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I
feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in
places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.
Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the
eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s
shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it,
this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power
and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's
an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of
encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll
call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s
even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a
method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.
They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk
pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect
in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith,
or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the
heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of
Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning
small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of
jewels, it might be the shining star.
Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love More
1. Absolute Power
2. Earth Girls
3. Fearless Like A Child
4. Kids Today
5. Intermezzo X – Wheel Of Fortune
6. Sweet Smell Of Success
7. Obnoxiously Talented
8. Avoid Heaven
9. Take Me To Your Leader
10. They Will Pay
11. Pompeii
“The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin
prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“
Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme
is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering
solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of
the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.
Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the
centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to
grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar
Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career.
“Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls
has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness
bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his
prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the
female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator
surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to
learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I
feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in
places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.
Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the
eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s
shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it,
this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power
and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's
an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of
encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll
call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s
even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a
method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.
They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk
pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect
in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith,
or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the
heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of
Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning
small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of
jewels, it might be the shining star.
Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love More
1
MOLLY NILSSON - 1. In Real Life
2
MOLLY NILSSON - 2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3
MOLLY NILSSON - 3. I Hope You Die
4
MOLLY NILSSON - 4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5
MOLLY NILSSON - 5. Hiroshima Street
6
MOLLY NILSSON - 6. Intermezzo: The Party
7
MOLLY NILSSON - 7. Hotel Home
8
MOLLY NILSSON - 8. City Of Atlantis
9
MOLLY NILSSON - 9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10
MOLLY NILSSON - 10. The Clocks
11
MOLLY NILSSON - 11. Skybound
Non Exclsuive, LP, LTD 300
1. In Real Life
2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3. I Hope You Die
4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5. Hiroshima Street
6. Intermezzo: The Party
7. Hotel Home
8. City Of Atlantis
9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10. The Clocks
11. Skybound
“I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time, I hope we die not long from now, the two of us
at the exact same time”
By the time Molly Nilsson released History, she had already established a fledgling cult status built on homemade
YouTube videos and home-burnt Cdrs. Writing from a distance, it’s clear that History is the first classic album in
her canon and arguably a classic of the 21st Century underground music panorama.While the methodology on
History hadn’t changed from Nilsson’s previous 3 albums – it was recorded solo at The Lighthouse, Nilsson’s
home studio based on a Berlin crossroads – on this record the songwriting reached a new peak and the
emotional scythe cut deeper. Here, Nilsson managed to combine a cosmic, outward looking perspective with an
intimate knowledge of the human condition and its place in these turbulent times. In truth, no other songwriter has
excavated the modern psyche so clearly and perfectly.
The tracklist to Nilsson’s fourth album reads as an early greatest hits for Molly Nilsson followers and also serves
as the perfect entry point to a whole world the artist has been building for the last 10 years. In Real Life
crystalises the millenial obsession with relationships built online, with a generation paying for the baby boomer’s
excesses with their anxiety towards the harshness of every day life. It’s a call to arms for a generation who fell in
love on Skype. On I Hope You Die, one of Molly Nilsson’s most iconic songs, the songwriter flips the song title
into a tale of doomed romance, a relationship based on miscommunications and the thrill of the other. It’s also
one of the most heartfelt songs full of pathos written by anyone, an ode to obsession. Doomed romance, life lived
on the flipside of day and the role of the outsider in society are themes that crop up through-out History. On
Bottles Of Tomorrow, the narrator is sweeping up, in love with the night and examining the remains a society
leaves behind.
On City Of Atlantis, Nilsson veers from the plaintive balladry she had begun to make her name with, embracing
trance-like synth and dance music details to create an unlikely anthem using the mythological city as a means to
comment on the patriarchal rendering of history by power. With by now trademark panache, she turns
complicated subject matter into a glorious song that transforms into an ecstatic pop moment.
Hotel Home, another Nilsson classic, paints loneliness not as a debilitating anxiety, but as a powerful tool that
propels the artist forward through her travels. It’s a song that hints at an endearing self-awareness also; the writer
is never at home, living life on the road, content that “the world will find me when the time is ripe.”
There’s never been a greater time. More
1. In Real Life
2. You Always Hurt The One You Love
3. I Hope You Die
4. Bottles Of Tomorrow
5. Hiroshima Street
6. Intermezzo: The Party
7. Hotel Home
8. City Of Atlantis
9. Qwerty (Censored Version)
10. The Clocks
11. Skybound
“I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time, I hope we die not long from now, the two of us
at the exact same time”
By the time Molly Nilsson released History, she had already established a fledgling cult status built on homemade
YouTube videos and home-burnt Cdrs. Writing from a distance, it’s clear that History is the first classic album in
her canon and arguably a classic of the 21st Century underground music panorama.While the methodology on
History hadn’t changed from Nilsson’s previous 3 albums – it was recorded solo at The Lighthouse, Nilsson’s
home studio based on a Berlin crossroads – on this record the songwriting reached a new peak and the
emotional scythe cut deeper. Here, Nilsson managed to combine a cosmic, outward looking perspective with an
intimate knowledge of the human condition and its place in these turbulent times. In truth, no other songwriter has
excavated the modern psyche so clearly and perfectly.
The tracklist to Nilsson’s fourth album reads as an early greatest hits for Molly Nilsson followers and also serves
as the perfect entry point to a whole world the artist has been building for the last 10 years. In Real Life
crystalises the millenial obsession with relationships built online, with a generation paying for the baby boomer’s
excesses with their anxiety towards the harshness of every day life. It’s a call to arms for a generation who fell in
love on Skype. On I Hope You Die, one of Molly Nilsson’s most iconic songs, the songwriter flips the song title
into a tale of doomed romance, a relationship based on miscommunications and the thrill of the other. It’s also
one of the most heartfelt songs full of pathos written by anyone, an ode to obsession. Doomed romance, life lived
on the flipside of day and the role of the outsider in society are themes that crop up through-out History. On
Bottles Of Tomorrow, the narrator is sweeping up, in love with the night and examining the remains a society
leaves behind.
On City Of Atlantis, Nilsson veers from the plaintive balladry she had begun to make her name with, embracing
trance-like synth and dance music details to create an unlikely anthem using the mythological city as a means to
comment on the patriarchal rendering of history by power. With by now trademark panache, she turns
complicated subject matter into a glorious song that transforms into an ecstatic pop moment.
Hotel Home, another Nilsson classic, paints loneliness not as a debilitating anxiety, but as a powerful tool that
propels the artist forward through her travels. It’s a song that hints at an endearing self-awareness also; the writer
is never at home, living life on the road, content that “the world will find me when the time is ripe.”
There’s never been a greater time. More
1
Hiroki Tamaki - River
2
Happy End - Kaze Wo Atsumete
3
Takashi Nishioka - Manin no ki
4
Ken Narita - Gingatetsudo No Noru
5
Hiroki Tamaki - Beautiful Song
6
Niningashi - Hitoribotch
7
Tokedashita Garasubako - Anmari Fukasugite
8
Akaitori - Hotaru
A counterculture movement united by an expansive, experimental and deeply soulful sensibility, Japan’s rebel protest music challenged the status quo and changed the country’s music industry in the process.
The birth of Japan’s nascent acid folk scene was rooted in the messy and invigorating political climate of the late 1960s. It is a story of Dadaists, communists, pharmacists and cult leaders, led by a young generation of upstart students, artists and dreamers hellbent on turning their world upside down.
Born on the campuses of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and centred around newly formed independent label and left-wing stronghold URC, this uniquely Japanese form of folk expression provided an outlet for musicians who were tired of aping Western sounds and instead found ways to sing in Japanese and integrate traditional forms in new ways.
At the forefront of this movement was Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haroumi Hosono, a polymath innovator whose band Happy End released the first Japanese language rock album, and whose influence would go on to be felt across Japanese music for decades. Alongside, and informed by the Kansai scene’s Takashi Nishioka and Happy End collaborator Ken Narita, they experimented with cadences and accents of the Japanese language to open the door for others to experiment with their own forms of psychedelic folk too.
Some, like Nishioka, were more inspired by Dadaism than drugs, while others, like Kazuhisa Okubo, would ultimately find work as a chemist, having founded two further folk groups that flirted with varying levels of success. Obstinately uncommercial, relentlessly creative, the music featured on Time Capsule’s Nippon Acid Folk represents a broad church of influences.
Perhaps the wildest addition to this congregation however was Hiroki Tamaki, a classically-trained violinist and committed iconoclast, whose synth-prog odysseys hinted at his obsession with the divine. Subsumed by the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, he penned an album in praise of the infamous religious leader of which two superbly mind-bending tracks are featured on this compilation.
Charting the decade from 1970 to 1980 as the dreams of political and spiritual liberation seeded in the ‘60s turned to dust, Nippon Acid Folk surveys a little explored corner of Japanese music history, but one which ultimately laid the foundations for an independent music industry, launching the careers of Hosono and others in the process.
Nippon Acid Folk 1970-1980 is pressed on 12” vinyl and represents the start of Time Capsule’s deep dive into Japan’s rich history of folk and psychedelic soul music. More
The birth of Japan’s nascent acid folk scene was rooted in the messy and invigorating political climate of the late 1960s. It is a story of Dadaists, communists, pharmacists and cult leaders, led by a young generation of upstart students, artists and dreamers hellbent on turning their world upside down.
Born on the campuses of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, and centred around newly formed independent label and left-wing stronghold URC, this uniquely Japanese form of folk expression provided an outlet for musicians who were tired of aping Western sounds and instead found ways to sing in Japanese and integrate traditional forms in new ways.
At the forefront of this movement was Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Haroumi Hosono, a polymath innovator whose band Happy End released the first Japanese language rock album, and whose influence would go on to be felt across Japanese music for decades. Alongside, and informed by the Kansai scene’s Takashi Nishioka and Happy End collaborator Ken Narita, they experimented with cadences and accents of the Japanese language to open the door for others to experiment with their own forms of psychedelic folk too.
Some, like Nishioka, were more inspired by Dadaism than drugs, while others, like Kazuhisa Okubo, would ultimately find work as a chemist, having founded two further folk groups that flirted with varying levels of success. Obstinately uncommercial, relentlessly creative, the music featured on Time Capsule’s Nippon Acid Folk represents a broad church of influences.
Perhaps the wildest addition to this congregation however was Hiroki Tamaki, a classically-trained violinist and committed iconoclast, whose synth-prog odysseys hinted at his obsession with the divine. Subsumed by the teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, he penned an album in praise of the infamous religious leader of which two superbly mind-bending tracks are featured on this compilation.
Charting the decade from 1970 to 1980 as the dreams of political and spiritual liberation seeded in the ‘60s turned to dust, Nippon Acid Folk surveys a little explored corner of Japanese music history, but one which ultimately laid the foundations for an independent music industry, launching the careers of Hosono and others in the process.
Nippon Acid Folk 1970-1980 is pressed on 12” vinyl and represents the start of Time Capsule’s deep dive into Japan’s rich history of folk and psychedelic soul music. More
1
Molly Nilsson - 1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2
Molly Nilsson - 2. Excalibur
3
Molly Nilsson - 3. Palestine
4
Molly Nilsson - 4. Jackboots Return
5
Molly Nilsson - 5. Wetcheeks
6
Molly Nilsson - 6. Red Telephone
7
Molly Nilsson - 7. Naming Names
8
Molly Nilsson - 8. The Communist Party
9
Molly Nilsson - 9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10
Molly Nilsson - 10. Point Doom
territories:WW-US,CA,UK, BENELUX
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
Limited White Vinyl LP, LTD 400
Tracklist
1. Prologue - Proud Destiny
2. Excalibur
3. Palestine
4. Jackboots Return
5. Wetcheeks
6. Red Telephone
7. Naming Names
8. The Communist Party
9. The Beauty Of The Duty
10. Point Doom
Un-American Activities is the 11th Studio album by Molly Nilsson. Written and recorded entirely on location in
California at the former home of writer, poet and early opponent of the National Socialist regime in 1930s Germany,
Lion Feuchtwanger and his wife Marta. An album of experimentation, genre-mashing and, above it all, Nilsson’s
instantly recognisable melodic skill and empathy, it continues the songwriter’s explorations of power, freedom,
oppression and its opposing force, a love unbound.
After accepting an artist residency as part of the Villa Aurora program, Nilsson began work crafting a new album
from scratch in a new environment, afforded the freedom, space and time to challenge her practice and take her
music into new territory. The resulting work, Un-American Activities, is a love note not only to the artist who was
among the very first to be declared an “enemy of the state” by the Nazi regime but also to both the eternal struggle
he fought and the human spirit that pervades all of Nilsson’s best work. It is also a double-pointed poison pen
letter: a critique of the new forms of oppression wielded by her temporary adopted country of the USA but also an
acknowledgement of the promise it always offers but never fulfils.
Along with the novel use of colour and photography in the artwork for Un-American Activities, there are swathes of
new techniques, genres and timbres new to Molly Nilsson’s music in evidence, 16 years into her music career. On
Jackboots Return is an icicle-cold New Beat track that deals directly with the current situation in Germany and
the resurgent Nazi-affiliated AfD. The question the song asks is, what’s the timeframe we’re talking about? Is this
the 30s, or somewhere a lot closer to home? The beat is picked up on The Communist Party, Nilsson’s deepest
bow to House music, evoking the early 90s Rave pioneers, Belgian 80s music and Vogue-era Madonna. Here the
lyrics are direct quotes from the McCarthy-era, anti-Communist pamphlet 100 Things You Should Know About
Communism in the U.S.A. The Beauty Of The Duty does to pounding Electro what Nilsson’s last album Extreme
did to Metal: subsume it into the Molly Nilsson aesthetic. It goes hard.
While Un-American Activities finds Nilsson experimenting, creating instinctive music on a first-thought-bestthought basis there are still “classic” Molly moments liberally spread throughout. Excalibur feels like the Molly of
old, an absolute star of a chorus refrain smudged with the vaseline of fuzz and hope, Red Telephone is wide-eyed,
slathered in reverb and chorus effects, distorted with soaring melody, a heart-tugger that tugs the body upwards to
the heavens with each evolving wave. Glistening digital tones wash through the album, providing a Y2K
etherealness to Nilsson’s audacious Stars and Stripes reference to Wetcheeks. Perhaps the album’s standout,
however, is Palestine (Somewhere Over The Rainbow), which is suffuse with empathy, solidarity and, in
referencing the classic socialist-penned canon song from The Wizard Of Oz, speaks directly to the tradition of
fighting oppression with full hearts of hope. More
1
Eiko Ishibashi / Jim O'Rourke / Tatsuhis - Sakuraza part I
2
Eiko Ishibashi / Jim O'Rourke / Tatsuhis - Sakuraza part II
Modern Obscure Music presents "Sakuraza," a live album featuring Eiko Ishibashi (flute and electronics), Jim O'Rourke (electronics), Kei Matsumaru (alto saxophone), Tatsuhisa Yamamoto (drums), and Giovanni Di Domenico (piano). Recorded at the Sakuraza jazz club in Kofu, Japan, this dynamic and sophisticated performance blends jazz, electronic music, and pop elements.
Giovanni Di Domenico, a frequent visitor to Japan, organized this June 2023 concert with long-time collaborators Ishibashi, O'Rourke, and Yamamoto, and invited saxophonist Matsumaru. The warm, intimate setting of Sakuraza provided the perfect backdrop for their unedited, improvisational session.
"Sakuraza" captures the deep musical connection and spontaneity of these artists, offering an immersive auditory experience. Recorded on June 14, 2023.
TRACKLISTS:
A Sakuraza part I 16:29MIN
B. Sakuraza part II 22:19MIN
More
Giovanni Di Domenico, a frequent visitor to Japan, organized this June 2023 concert with long-time collaborators Ishibashi, O'Rourke, and Yamamoto, and invited saxophonist Matsumaru. The warm, intimate setting of Sakuraza provided the perfect backdrop for their unedited, improvisational session.
"Sakuraza" captures the deep musical connection and spontaneity of these artists, offering an immersive auditory experience. Recorded on June 14, 2023.
TRACKLISTS:
A Sakuraza part I 16:29MIN
B. Sakuraza part II 22:19MIN
More
1
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
2
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
3
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
4
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
5
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
6
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
7
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
8
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
9
MOLLY NILSSON - No Title
Format: LP
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
1. In The Mood For A Tattoo
2. The Revenge Of The Stalker
3. More Certain Than Death
4. When I Have No Words
5. Berlin, Berlin
6. Europa
7. I Whisper In My Ear
8. The Crisis
9. Asleep In Stockholm
“Is the future any brighter? Is the darkness any lighter?
When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for change has
only got stronger but here you can see the bright hope begin to dawn.
Europa saw Molly Nilsson move away from the minimal primitivism of her debut These Things Take Time and
remastered by James Plotkin for it’s 2021 reissue it reveals a growing depth in her songwriting. Opener In The Mood For
A Tattoo, with synth overdubs on top of impeccable vocal harmonising, boasts a killer chorus hook before melting into
The Revenge Of The Stalker, with its shades of 80s synth pop building layered dynamics out of simplicity. More Certain
Than Death is a song of youthful rebellion, even if you didn’t know it at the time, forever searching for a way out of youth
while young. Of course now, over a decade since their release, these songs have been canonised in the alternative pop
realm like all of Molly Nilsson’s catalogue. The DIY aspect of these recordings may place them firmly in the milieu they first
gained popularity – the exploding world of DIY pop, blog-based music discovery and the seemingly endless possibilities of
the beginnings of of social media – but Europa’s songs are really made to be sung to and by people, they’re statements of
intent, of togetherness and defiance.
The album’s title track is a kernel of righteousness, an archetypal Molly Nilsson moment that contains all hope in its fist,
which steadily opens outstretched to everyone who listens. Europa was written in 2009 about the ongoing refugee crisis,
an open love letter to humanity. “The borders are only lines in the sand, the borders are divided by land (and invented by
men.)” Europa praises the idea of people coming together to make things better, to help each other. It’s not about this
Europe but the idea of having no borders to imprison people. Think of Europa as an alternate universe, where no one is
illegal, but free. It’s heady stuff to sum up in a song but of course Nilsson’s effortless chorus-writing render all these
notions and feelings in a few simple words. This is of course her chief talent, whether singing about heartbreak or global
financial meltdown and it is in abundance here.
Europa is idealism never dimmed, hope never blunted.
Europa is the final album in Molly Nilsson’s catalogue to be reissued.
25% of all profits will be donated to sea- watch.org, A non-profit organization that conducts civil search and
rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean More
1
Niningashi - Ameagari (After the rain)
2
Niningashi - Semai Boku No Heyade (In My Small Room)
3
Niningashi - Ososugite (Too Late)
4
Niningashi - Miyo Chan
5
Niningashi - Oraga Murano Soncho San (Our Village Chief)
6
Niningashi - Restaurant
7
Niningashi - Natsu (Summer)
8
Niningashi - Chikan No Uta (Molester Song)
9
Niningashi - Hitoribotchi (On My Own)
A long-lost Japanese acid folk gem, Niningashi’s 1974 private press debut Heavy Way shimmers with originality, deft song writing and a dream-like groove.
Although he was training as a pharmacist, Kazuhisa Okubo was much more interested in prescribing musical medicine.
A coming-of-age album, Heavy Way captured a turning point in Okubo’s life, and Japanese society more widely as a nostalgia for the pastoral calm of the traditional life, met the cosmopolitan thrill of coffee, sex and cigarettes in the big city.
Intoxicated by Tokyo, driven by a passion for music and surrounded by a thriving acid folk scene, the young student filtered his experiences through a psychedelic cocktail of soulful influences from the US and Japan.
Niningashi was his first band, and Heavy Way was their only album. It was honest and raw, deep and strangely funky, in an off-beat kind of way. Across nine tracks, Okubo and the 6-piece band put their own spin on the new folk sound of Japan, combining witty lyrics with electric guitar-driven solos and crisp, understated grooves.
Melancholy and profound, opening track ‘Ameagari’ feels like a synthesis of Harvest-era Neil Young and Haruomi Hosono’s Happy End. Then there’s the whimsical washboard country sound of ‘Semai Boku No Heyade’; the moody, low-lit charm of ‘Restaurant’; and ‘Hitoribotchi’, a sensitive portrayal of childhood, steeped in memories of rainfall that will resonate with fans of Woo and Mac Demarco.
While Okubo would go on to taste success with psychedelic folk bands Neko and Kaze, the latter of which scored three #1 albums, little is known about his mysterious debut with Niningashi.
Self-released by Okubo in 1974, and featuring album artwork by his brother, it has slowly generated a cult following online, intrigued by its soft and enchanting sound. So few records were ultimately pressed that those remaining have fetched up to £1,500 online.
Featured on Time Capsule’s era-spanning collection Nippon Acid Folk, Niningashi’s Heavy Way is a deep-cut grail of a vibrant time in Japan’s musical history, where even the pharmacists were making jams. More
Although he was training as a pharmacist, Kazuhisa Okubo was much more interested in prescribing musical medicine.
A coming-of-age album, Heavy Way captured a turning point in Okubo’s life, and Japanese society more widely as a nostalgia for the pastoral calm of the traditional life, met the cosmopolitan thrill of coffee, sex and cigarettes in the big city.
Intoxicated by Tokyo, driven by a passion for music and surrounded by a thriving acid folk scene, the young student filtered his experiences through a psychedelic cocktail of soulful influences from the US and Japan.
Niningashi was his first band, and Heavy Way was their only album. It was honest and raw, deep and strangely funky, in an off-beat kind of way. Across nine tracks, Okubo and the 6-piece band put their own spin on the new folk sound of Japan, combining witty lyrics with electric guitar-driven solos and crisp, understated grooves.
Melancholy and profound, opening track ‘Ameagari’ feels like a synthesis of Harvest-era Neil Young and Haruomi Hosono’s Happy End. Then there’s the whimsical washboard country sound of ‘Semai Boku No Heyade’; the moody, low-lit charm of ‘Restaurant’; and ‘Hitoribotchi’, a sensitive portrayal of childhood, steeped in memories of rainfall that will resonate with fans of Woo and Mac Demarco.
While Okubo would go on to taste success with psychedelic folk bands Neko and Kaze, the latter of which scored three #1 albums, little is known about his mysterious debut with Niningashi.
Self-released by Okubo in 1974, and featuring album artwork by his brother, it has slowly generated a cult following online, intrigued by its soft and enchanting sound. So few records were ultimately pressed that those remaining have fetched up to £1,500 online.
Featured on Time Capsule’s era-spanning collection Nippon Acid Folk, Niningashi’s Heavy Way is a deep-cut grail of a vibrant time in Japan’s musical history, where even the pharmacists were making jams. More
1
Various - Miki Hirayama - ???? (Tsukikage
2
Various - Miki Hirayama - ????? (Denshi Le
3
Various - Chu Kosaka - Music
4
Various - No Title
5
Various - Junko Yagami - ???????? (Johan
6
Various - Miharu Koshi - ???????? (Co
7
Various - Marlene - Hittin' Me Where It Hurts
8
Various - Lily - ?????? (Tenkini Naare) ab
The smooth and funky sound of prime-time Japanese reggae pop in the 1970s and ‘80s fired up an obsession with Jamaican music that persists to the present day.
If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenki Ni Naare’ was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious.
Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is a part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s. More
If there is a year zero for the introduction of reggae music to Japan, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1979 when Bob Marley and the Wailers toured the country, trailed by an entourage of journalists, photographers and fans ready to spread the message of the music into all corners of Japanese society.
But the story of Japanese reggae is not a linear one, and the music that is collected on Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 captures the moment J-reggae entered the broader public consciousness, merging commercial city pop style with an infectious backbeat, that has drawn comparisons with the emergence of Lovers Rock in the UK.
Rather than look directly to Jamaica, many producers and artists in Japan were inspired instead by the more approachable sounds of The Police and UB40, their reggae fix arriving pre-filtered through the lens of new wave pop from the UK. Playful and groovy, these album deep cuts have been overlooked for too long.
Among them are Miki Hirayama, the idol singer who borrowed the bassline from Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic on ‘Denshi Lenzi’, Chu Kosaka, who headed to Hawaii to cut the Jimmy Cliff-inspired ‘Music’ and Marlene, the Philippine songstress whose cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Hittin’ Me Wear It Hurts’ owed much to her producer’s obsession with Sly & Robbie’s Compass Point sound.
Then there was Izumi “Mimi” Kobayashi, who enlisted the Babylon Warriors to perform on a dubbed-out version of her own track ‘Lazy Love’, the city pop-meets-new wave reggae sound of Miharu Koshi’s ‘Coffee Break’, Junko Yagami’s anti-apartheid deep cut ‘Johannesburg’ and Lily, whose ‘Tenki Ni Naare’ was produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto and closes out the compilation with a flourish.
While these stories may not always conform to neat narratives, they do provide a more accurate reflection of the indirect ways in which styles infiltrate one another and, in their naivety, have the potential to create something beautifully strange and entirely new. Previously only available in Japan, the tracks on this compilation are a testament to that curious alchemy.
Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is released on vinyl and as a full album download (no streaming), featuring original artwork by Japanese Fukuoka-based artist Noncheleee, whose cover pays homage to the iconic dancehall album art of Wilfred Limonious.
Released on 1st September, Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 is a part of Time Capsule's Nippon Series, a loose series of compilations exploring different musical scenes from Japan between the 1960s and 2010s. More